The Divided Society after 3 November 

In contemporary democracies, conflict over the correct policy responses to everything from the Covid-19 pandemic, economic inequality, and ethnic diversity continues unabated. In the United States in particular, this conflict has sown profound divisions between the actors of the staunch two-party system, which are not only political but have taken on a distinctly cultural hue. As the 2020 presidential elections results have clearly illustrated, this divide is deeply entrenched in the political landscape and does not show signs of easing.

When policy debates devolve into winner-take-all showdowns, the lessons learned by the political parties tend to drive them further apart. From the realm of foreign policy to the politics of identity, unresolved questions haunt our systems: Are we becoming inured to the reality of an increasingly divided society? Where does popular sovereignty truly reside? With the current pique of charismatic chief executives and constitutional crises in the democratic and democratizing world, echoes of Carl Schmitt reverberate in the chambers of parliament and the halls of justice. Democracies that prize political majoritarianism without protecting voices of the minority encourage defeatism. Racial tensions have come to the fore in an already fraught political climate and will affect to a large extent people’s electoral habits, perhaps with the emergence of new and unseen voting patterns. Does a Biden presidency have the tools and political grounding to begin facing these difficult questions? Or have the political echo chambers become too divergent?

AGENDA

Hours are indicated in Eastern Standard Time & Central European Time, respectively

23 November

11:30am-11:55am | 17:30-17:55

Welcome remarks

Giancarlo Bosetti, Reset DOC

David Freedberg, The Italian Academy at Columbia University

Ferdinando Salleo, Centro Studi Americani

11:55am-12:55am | 17:55-18:55

Round Table

The US after November 3rd: Will the Healing Begin?

Michael Walzer (Introductory Remarks)

Lisa Anderson, Seyla Benhabib, Jelani Cobb, Jedediah Purdy

Chair: Marina Calloni

5 minute break

1:00pm-2:00pm | 19:00-20:00

Round Table

The Future of Atlantic Relations

Giuliano Amato, Craig Calhoun, Federico Rampini, Torrey Taussig

Chair: Maria Latella

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24 November

11:30am-12:30am | 17:30-18:30

Round Table

The Divided Society

Mark Lilla (Keynote Speech)

Anthony Appiah, Sheri Berman, Ian Buruma

Chair: Giuseppe Sarcina

5 minute break

12:35pm-1:35pm | 18:35-19:35

Round Table

Inequality, Caste and Democracy

Daron Acemoğlu (Keynote Speech)

Sudipta Kaviraj, Michèle Lamont, Rahsaan Maxwell

Chair: José Casanova

1:35pm-2:00pm | 19:35 -20:00

Closing remarks

Giancarlo Bosetti

David Freedberg

Confirmed Speakers:

Daron Acemoğlu • Giuliano Amato • Lisa Anderson • Anthony Appiah • Seyla Benhabib • Sheri Berman • Ian Buruma • Craig Calhoun • Marina Calloni • José Casanova • Jelani Cobb • Sudipta Kaviraj • Michèle Lamont • Maria Latella • Mark Lilla • Rahsaan Maxwell • Jedediah Purdy • Federico Rampini • Giuseppe Sarcina • Torrey Taussig • Michael Walzer