A talk by Maciej Kisilowski, (Central European University) & Anna Wojciuk (Warsaw University), authors of Let's Agree on Poland.Â
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Following the talk, please join us for TCDS's U.S. election watch party.
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If you are interested in dealing with social and political polarization and how to bridge the divides and talk to those "across the aisle," please join us for this talk preceding TCDS’s election watch party. Like the U.S., Poland has faced deep political polarization and survived the rule of right-wing authoritarians. After a brutal electoral campaign and the extraordinary mobilization of pro-democratic society, the ruling Law & Justice Party lost its majority last October, changing the landscape of a besieged European democracy.Â
The panelists will discuss their project, which was made public before the 2023 Polish elections: the highly collaborative and exciting book Let's Agree on Poland, which gave voice to all sides of the political spectrum. This Polish bestseller is now coming out in English from Oxford University Press.Â
Is this the time for an uneasy and controversial institutional compromise with the rule of a law-abiding right (or still democratically minded right)? Is a progressive-conservative social contract even possible? And if not, what is the alternative?
For additional events focused on the election and the important issues at stake, visit the 2024 Presidential Elections: Events and Information Hub.
Presented by the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies (TCDS) and the Democracy Seminar at The New School for Social Research (NSSR)
The Transregional Center for Democratic Studies - TCDS’s transregional and cross-departmental research and study programs, conducted both at home and abroad, bring together civic-minded students, junior and senior scholars, and civil society actors from various regional contexts. Our activities — region-based institutes, workshops, conferences, talks, and fellowships — are designed to further strengthen social and human capital, i.e., individuals and organizations concerned with the promise and sustainability of democracy. Our flagship projects have been the annual Democracy & Diversity Graduate Summer Institutes (held in Poland since 1991 and also in South Africa from 1999 to 2015), aimed at a rigorous quest for a more textured understanding of the precariousness of democracy as it arises almost everywhere.
The Democracy Seminar is a project convened by publisher and founding editor Jeffrey Goldfarb and senior editors Elzbieta Matynia and Jeffrey C. Isaac. This world-wide discussion among pro-democracy intellectuals and activists addresses the political, social and cultural obstacles to democratic governance; investigates the rise and appeal of illiberal philosophies and practices; and explores ways for rolling back autocratic politics.
Committed to amplifying diverse voices, The New School offers more than a thousand public programs and events each year, providing fresh perspectives and unique learning opportunities. These lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and performances feature prominent and emerging artists, activists, and thought leaders. Be sure to visit our Events Calendar to see the full roster.
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Maciej Kisilowski is Associate Professor of Law and Strategy at CEU. His research interests focus on the application of innovation strategy to various nonmarket fields, including public law and regulation. He received his J.S.D. and LL.M. from Yale Law School, M.P.A. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and M.B.A. with distinction from INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France, and Singapore), after spending a term as an exchange student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he holds a second doctorate and master’s degree in public law from Warsaw University.Â
Prof. Kisilowski publishes in three disciplines: law, management, and political science. He is a frequent commentator on issues of the rule of law and political strategy contributing (among others) to Project Syndicate, Financial Times, Politico, Verfassungsblog, Foreign Policy, and Haaretz, as well as the leading news outlets in his native Poland. He is the author/editor of four books, including Administrategy, which was translated into five languages. His new edited book, Let’s Agree on Poland, was a non-fiction bestseller in Poland and its international edition will be published by Oxford University Press in 2025. His recent academic articles appeared in Law and Social Inquiry and Business and Society. He has designed and taught a number of graduate and executive classes, for which he was awarded the CEU Distinguished Teaching Award in 2016.
Anna Wojciuk is an Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw and Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. Her current academic interests include populist foreign policy and right-wing discourses on international relations. She published in the Review of International Studies, the Chinese Journal of International Politics, European Political Science and Journal of International Relations and Development. Anna is a President of the Social Contract Incubator, the association which developed the proposal of a new social contract for Poland: "Let's Agree on Poland", Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2025.