Emancipation without Utopia? (lectio magistralis) Public Lecture

How to be radical in the 21st century

Organized by IPER - Festival delle periferie

The landscape of our political imagination is void of a grand utopia able to energise the discontent and the hopes of the multitude. Why is this the case? And what ways are still available to us for radical transformation without the help of Utopia?
Event Poster

2nd Leuven Critical Emancipations Conference: The Production of Difference Public Lecture

Keynote Address 'The Emancipation Paradox and the Production of Indifference'

Organized by KU Leuven, Institute of Philosophy

One of the paradoxes of our time is that advances in progressive politics aiming at fostering inclusive difference are paralleled by increased competition for victimhood among various protected minorities -- a dynamic that replaces solidarities with indifference. The keynote will address this paradox.

Home-Grown Autocracy Public Lecture

Why Are Democrats Turning Against Democracy?

Organized by European Common Space for Alternatives (ECSA)

Keynote address to the European Common Space for Alternatives (ECSA) symposium, Marseille, 26-28 April
Plenary "Power to the People": The perspective of a real democracy is not only a historical, social and political exigence but also a necessary condition to defeat authoritarianism and the Far - right forces that are rising across Europe and the Globe."

Why Is the Right Riding High on Social Discontent? Public Lecture

Organized by International Political Science Association, Research Committe "Socialism, Capitalism and Democracy"

The affluent Western societies are beset by impoverishment, inequality, and insecurity, and awash with massive discontent. The channels of electoral politics are translating this angst into support for far-right parties; autocracy thrives with the blessing of democratic publics. To make sense of this pathology, we need to shed some of the certitudes that have buttressed 'progressive' social criticism and intellectual critique.

Key Driver of Populism Is Insecurity Rather Than Inequality Interview

Organized by European Center for Populism Studies

The term "populism" is misleading; it is diverting attention from significant and lasting transformations in ideological orientations that are taking place in liberal democracies. The new parameters that orient voters' preferences transcend conventional left-right categories.

Le Social Dans Quel Etat? Public Lecture

Keynote Address at Autumn University, League of Human Rights

Organized by Ligue des droits de l’Homme

(1) Global income inequality between countries is at its lowest level for almost 150 years. (2) Inequality in rich countries persists. (3) Our governments are doubling down on their commitment to social justice. Should we be pleased about the first? Should we worry about the second and applaud the third? Three times No. Our policy matrix continues to produce ubiquitous precarity, which makes economic inequalities both irrelevant and highly significant. If we place social security and economic stability at the centre of policy, we might reconcile social and ecological justice.

The Politics of Precarity and Patterns of Autocracy in Europe Public Lecture

Organized by The Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice

Two dynamics have been making their imprint on the political landscape of Europe over the past decade: the rise of economic inequality and the rise of far-right parties. Are the two phenomena related? And why isn’t the rage of impoverished workers fueling support for the left?

Critical Theory Facing the Rise of Autocracy in Europe Public Lecture

Organized by The New School for Social Research

The rise of authoritarian populist parties has been correlated with the rising inequality in Western democracies. Is there a causal connection between the two? And why isn't the left managing to harvest the rage of impoverished workers?

'Democratisation': Fantasies of Empowerment and Realities of Entrapment Public Lecture

Organized by European Civic Forum

Democratisation is currently the highest and broadest banner of progressive politics. Why is the call for 'more democracy' so fashionable among political elites? Could this be yet another neoliberal strategy for dumping responsibility onto society while all effective power is retained at the top?

Social Movements' Response to Democracy in Crisis Public Lecture

A keynote address at the French Social Movements Summer School

Organized by Les Universités d’Été des Mouvements Sociaux et des Solidarités (UEMSS)

In contexts of massive economic insecurity, the ballot box increasingly translates our private fears into reactionary politics. The role of social movements is invaluable -- to dispel our private anxieties through collective belongings, and to pressure public authority for anti-precarity policies.

Migration, Refugeehood and Justice Public Lecture

A keynote address at the SeNSS summer conference

Organized by South East Network for Social Sciences

Across Europe, democratic elections are fueling the far right, which is raising the banner of a purist utopia – a world in which the affluence and some of the freedoms of liberal democracy are preserved for select insiders. What can we, scholars, do to help harness social discontent into support for a progressive political agenda - one for inclusive, economically sustainable, and socially equitable societies?

Congress of the European Trade Union Confederation Public Lecture

ETUI panel: Beyond the polycrisis

The Panel discusses some of the original, alternative, heterodox and bold "transformative ideas" that could deliver (in a not-so-distant future) the structural change that the world needs.

What Future for European Democracy? Public Lecture

Differentiation, dominance, and possible EU trajectories

Panel discussion "Prospects of European democracy" at the EU3D concluding conference

Inaugural Lecture: Regaining Our Futures Public Lecture

How can political theory help us break free of the tyranny of the present?

Organized by University of Kent Brussels School of International Studies

In the early 21st century, Western societies are at the height of their affluence, scientific brilliance, and institutional sophistication. Yet, they have lost the capacity to cope with the present and navigate the future. Long-term and global policy commitments are often neglected in favour of short-term and local concerns. We are trapped in the tyranny of a present scarred by rising inequality, precarity, discrimination and autocratic rule. Can political theory help us break free?
In this presentation, I will draw on some of the conceptual innovations I have developed throughout my life’s work as a political theorist, starting with my critical engagement in the 1989 revolution in my native Bulgaria, to suggest ways of expanding our intellectual and political ambitions.

Interview for Bungacast Interview

Organized by Bungacast

We talk critical theory, the paradox of emancipation, the crisis of 'the crisis of capitalism', and why we should be thinking in terms of precarity capitalism, not neoliberalism.

What is so Special About Contemporary Capitalism? Event

Albena Azmanova and James Galbraith in Conversation

Organized by Lucie Repova

Azmanova and Galbraith single out some peculiarities of contemporary capitalism, probe the causes of rising instability, question the Left's nostalgia for the inclusive prosperity of the post-war welfare state, and debate the social significance of rising inequality. Moderated and hosted by Lucie Repova in episode 43 of the 'Think with Lucie' podcast.

Precarity's Damage to Liberal Democracies Event

Guest lecture at OECD Council, Paris

Organized by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Within the lecture series "New Approaches to Economic Challenges" hosted by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann (restricted to OECD ambassadors).

Precarity, Populism, and the Future of Progressive Alternatives Public Lecture

A keynote at the European Civic Academy

Organized by European Civic Forum

Twenty years since the first European Social Forum took place in Florence, Italy, in November 2002, the fifth edition of the European Civic Academy asks "How can democratic civil society drive systemic change?". My keynote addresses the phenomenon of political inertia in times of crisis and the capacity of the precarious multitude to become an agent of radical social transformation.

Democracy with Foresight Public Lecture

The key to socially sustainable transition in Europe (and beyond)

Organized by The European Trade Union Institute

Two decades of perpetual crisis management have depleted Europe’s capacity to envision and pursue a future. How can the European Union steer the course towards the long-view of social and ecological wellbeing in this context of incessant emergencies? Drawing on our research into sustainable European integration and progressive social transformation Kalypso Nikolaidis and I discern a path for the socially sustainable transition we now need.

Idealism without Utopias Public Lecture

Organized by LUX

Utopias kill. We are better off without them. Yet we need a powerful idealism if we are to save the environment and save our societies at the same time.

Precarity for All Public Lecture

On the political drivers and consequences of insecurity

Organized by Boston University - Center for the Study of Europe

Pracarity is a state of politically generated social vulnerability that erodes solidarities and hampers socity's capacity to govern itself. Under the right conditions, however, it could generate emancipatory energies.
Event Details

On the Constitution of Unfreedom In 21st-Century Liberal Democracies Public Lecture

Organized by The European Studies Council of the MacMillan Center, Yale University

What is the connection between the spectacular growth of inequality and the dramatic increase of rule-of-law violations in liberal democracies?

Time to Decolonize the Western Mind? Public Lecture

Organized by University of Kent Brussels School of International Studies

The evils of collonialism are by now well recorded. But is the Western mind altogether, including modern social science, also in need of being decolonised, andif yes, how are we to go about it?

What Really Troubles the 99% Public Lecture

A guest talk at the American Library in Paris

Organized by The American Library in Paris

Precarity-for-all or growing inequality, what is the greatest social evil of our age? In a debate with French economist Lucas Chancel I will address some of the fallacies and insights in the thinking about current-day capitalism.

Paradoxes of Emancipation Event

An educational festival "On Roma Resilience & Other Compelling Stories"

Organized by The Roma Peoples Project at Columbia University

The struggle for racial and gender justice has made strides throughout the 20th century. Democratic governments have put in place special measures (e.g., prohibiting discrimination) in order to empower disadvantaged groups. And yet, the problems persist, and societies become more unjust (rising inequality, rise of white supremacism and xenophobia over the past decade). Why is this?

The Assault on the Rule of Law in Bulgaria Event

Organized by The Left in the European Parliament

Presentation in Sofia of the research my assistant Bethany Howard and I conducted for the report Binding the Guardian: On the European Commission’s Failure to Safeguard the Rule of Law (Brussels: European Parliament, 2021).

The Future of the Left in Times of Ubiquitous Precarity Public Lecture

Organized by Denknetz

Discussion of the implications of ubiquitous precarity for the European Left, hosted by the Social-democratic Party of Switzerland, together with the thinktank “Denknetz” and “Cosmopolitics”.

Award Ceremony for the 2021 Michael Harrington Book Prize Event

Organized by APSA, Caucus for Critical Political Science

The Michael Harrington Book Award of the American Political Science Association's Caucus for Critical Political Science "recognizes an outstanding book that demonstrates how scholarship can be used in the struggle for a better world". The 2021 recipient was Albena Azmanova’s book Capitalism on Edge: How Fighting Precarity Can Achieve Radical Change Without Crisis or Utopia.

On 1989's Lost Insights Public Lecture

Organized by Central and Eastern European Forum of Young Legal, Political and Social Theorists

Keynote address at the 13th CEE Forum of Young Legal, Political and Social Theorists: "Political Imagination and Utopian Energies in Central and Eastern Europe", Charles University, Prague.
Event Program

Precarity Capitalism and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy Interview

An Interview Hosted by Re-Open: Central European Research Hub

Organized by reOPEN

Autocracy is rising not only among the EU's newest members - the post-communist societies of East and central Europe, but also in the old member-states --the 'mature' democracies such as the UK and France. Meanwhile, the 'West' has lost not just it's interest in the East, but its affection for it, its complicity with post-communist societies' aspirations for freedom and democracy. The erosion of solidarities is rooted in the political economy of ubiquitous precarity.

Hidden Letters Public Lecture

Poetry, Precarity and Post-Covid Monuments

Organized by Just Festivals

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fault lines not only of the fiscal and economic policies in most industrialized countries, but also in the debate among poets and politicians about the role of the state and culture, the future of work and the search for an alternative beyond the capitalism-socialism dichotomy. How many of these new ideas and poems will persist once the pandemic is over? Has the time for a new approach to poetry, politics and economics finally arrived? Join us for a discussion about poetry activism, precarity and post-COVID monuments with Scottish and Bulgarian poets and political scientists.

Does Inequality Matter or Is Precarity the Real Problem? Public Lecture

Organized by Future of Money

Event Description:

"Future of Money is hosting Albena Azmanova, the author of the widely acclaimed book Capitalism on Edge: How Fighting Precarity Can Achieve Radical Change Without Crisis or Utopia. Professor Azmanova makes a fascinating contribution to the debate around contemporary society arguing that the key issue of our age is precarity or insecurity rather than inequality."

Author Meets Critics Public Lecture

Panel discussion on Capitalism on Edge

Organized by Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics

The wake of the financial crisis has inspired hopes for dramatic change and stirred visions of capitalism’s terminal collapse. Yet capitalism is not on its deathbed, utopia is not in our future, and revolution is not in the cards. In Capitalism on Edge, I demonstrate that radical progressive change is still attainable, but it must come from an unexpected direction.

Discussing with James Galbraith the Future of Work Public Lecture

Organized by The Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice

James Galbraith and Albena Azmanova debate strategies for post-Covid social transformation, focusing on the work-related contradictions of capitalism Azmanova identifies in her book Capitalism on Edge. She has argued that while the new economy does not generate good jobs for all, we are increasingly reliant on holding a job, but she rejects the two popular strategies for solving this conundrum: active job creation and universal basic income.

Book Launch: Peter Fleming's New Dark Academia: How Universities Die Public Lecture

Organized by Pluto Press

Peter Fleming's new book records the acute pathologies afflicting universities as workplaces and laboratories of knowledge and learning. Join his discussion with Will Davies and, Gargi Bhattacharyya and chair Albena Azmanova

Precarity, Risk, and Safe Speech Interview

Interview for podcast "Vienna Coffee House Conversations with Ivan Vejvoda"

Organized by IWM

As Ivan Vejvoda queries some of the ideas in my book Capitalism on Edge, we trace the path from precarity to the quest for safe speech in universities.

The Future of Democracy in a World of Uncertainty Public Lecture

ENA Institute @ Delphi Economic Forum VI

Organized by ENA Institute for Alternative Policies

Nadia Urbinati (Columbia University), Göran Therborn (Cambridge University) and Albena Azmanova (Kent University) offer their diagnoses on the state of liberal democracy and their prognoses for progressive social transformation.
Event details

Do We Need a Post-Covid Economic Revolution? Public Lecture

Debating Europe

Organized by The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)

The Covid-19-pandemic and the economic crisis it triggered is not only upsetting fiscal and social policies in most industrialized countries, but also the debate among economists about the role of the state, the future of work and the balance between necessary economic growth and the needs to fight global warming. How many of these new ideas will persist once the pandemic is over? Has the time for a new approach to economics finally arrived?
Event details

Interview for Austrian Television Event

Organized by Österreichischer Rundfunk Fernsehen

Interview for Österreichischer Rundfunk Fernsehen (ORF) on the occasion of the publication of Capitalism on Edge in German: Kapitalismus an der Kippe, Radicaler Wandel ohne Krise, Edition Konturen, 2021.

The Democratic Panopticon: Doing Democracy Differently Event

Organized by European University Institute

In her talk "A Democratic Panopticon for the Recovery Fund: A new form of permanent citizen involvement in EU decision-making", Kalypso Nicolaidis explains the need to seek new forms of accountability and democratic empowerment; followed by a commentary by Albena Azmanova and Hannah Werner.

IWM Monthly Lecture Public Lecture

Capitalism on Edge

Organized by The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)

In discussion with Wolfgang Merkel, Albena Azmanova addresses the implications of her analysis in Capitalism on Edge for the renewal of progressive politics after the Covid-19 crisis

Pandemic, Politics and Society: Book Launch Public Lecture

Organized by SciencesPo

Book launch of Pandemics, Politics, and Society: Critical Perspectives on the Covid-19 Crisis, Edited by Gerard Delanty. Berlin: De Gruyter, March 2021.
Event details

Modernity's Rigidities Public Lecture

A Presentation of Capitalism on Edge

Organized by The Bauman Institute, University of Leeds

For the many, it has impossible to navigate what Zygmunt Bauman called 'liquid modernity' - as the proliferation of risks become intangible threats engulfing us in hostile uncertainty. Yet, many of these risks are politically generated and therefore can be eliminated, as I ppint out in Capitalism on Edge.

How Precarity Puts Capitalism on Edge Interview

Organized by The William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance

Mark Blyth and Albena Azmanova explore the roots of economic precarity, the reasons it’s more dangerous and destabilizing than inequality alone, and why addressing it will require mixing tried-and-true economic policies with a radical rethinking of how our economy is structured.

Capitalism on Edge Discussion Interview

Organized by Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University

The wake of the financial crisis has inspired hopes for dramatic change and stirred visions of capitalism’s terminal collapse. Yet capitalism is not on its deathbed, utopia is not in our future, and revolution is not in the cards. In this interview I demonstrate that radical progressive change is still attainable, but it may come from an unexpected direction.

Who Sews Kamala Harris' Clothes? Public Lecture

Feminist Struggles: Individual Emancipation versus Class Liberation

Organized by The Barricade

The aesthetics of feminism have never been so trendy! Take the idea that the feminist struggle is one of individual emancipation - in that case, we can be delighted with what we've achieved: Women are conquering top management positions. They are now in the highest positions of politics - we have the first woman of color as the USA's vice president. But are these real victories for the feminist movement that aims for systemic change of society?

Capitalism on Edge Podcast Interview

Organized by Social Europe

For Albena Azmanova capitalism is not in crisis, but it is on edge—and on the point of radical transformation.

On the Changing Shape of Globalisation and the Chances for Progressive Radicalism Public Lecture

Organized by The Centre for the Study of Global Human Movement, Cambridge University

The 21st century has inaugurated a new stage in the life of global capitalism. Neoliberalism has been replaced by a yet darker entity, the ‘precarity capitalism’, marked by the massive spread of insecurity for the 99 per cent: for rich and poor, men and women, the well-educated and the poorly skilled, insiders and newcomers. This, creates an unprecedented opportunity for victorious radical politics.

How Can Diversity of Thought Coincide with Diversity of Cultures in the Classroom? Public Lecture

Organized by School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Mercy College

We face a tension that is both psychological and political the more our societies diversify naturally and culturally. We often end up in echo chambers and political silos that act as a haven and give us a sense of refuge. As these divisions increase and society becomes more and more splintered, so does animosity between groups.

From Metacrisis of Capitalism to Transformative Radicalism Public Lecture

Has the Covid Pandemic Cleared the Way?

Organized by Critical Theory Roundtable

The Critical Theory Roundtable is a small, high caliber conference that represents the best of the diverse streams of critical theory in philosophy and the social sciences. It draws participants from across the US and often Europe. The conference now represents a new generation of critical theorists who are focused on diversifying the perspectives and problems in the field. This includes challenges of neoliberalism, globalization, and nationalism, and fostering creative new critical modalities in the social sciences, humanities, and arts.
Event Poster and Schedule

Capitalism on Edge: on Radical Change without Crisis, Revolution, or Utopia Public Lecture

Organized by St Antony’s College, University of Oxford

The pandemic has disclosed that precarity, above all, is what grieves the 99 per cent. Albena Azmanova, in her new book Capitalism on Edge, suggest that this presents a unique opportunity for effecting radical change without the help of a terminal crisis of capitalism, grand utopias, or a revolution. We will explore, in discussion with her, the new paths for progressive politics our historical junction has opened.

Precarity and Subversion Public Lecture

The New Language of Radicalism

Organized by Hobart and William Smith Colleges

The Guest Lecture series at Fisher Center for Gender and Justice at Hobart & William Smith Colleges launches with a discussion of precarity, the meta-crisis of capitalism and subversion as a form of radical change without a revolutionary break.

Ivan Krastev and Albena Azmanova Discussing Capitalism on Edge Public Lecture

Organized by Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue

The wake of the financial crisis has inspired hopes for dramatic change and stirred visions of capitalism’s terminal collapse. Yet capitalism is not on its deathbed, utopia is not in our future, and revolution is not in the cards. In Capitalism on Edge, Albena Azmanova demonstrates that radical progressive change is still attainable, but it must come from an unexpected direction.

Corona within Precarity Capitalism Interview

Organized by Critical Theory in Berlin

Following the crisis of the health care systems and the social lockdown, the socio-economic consequences of the corona pandemic are now coming sharply to the surface. The crisis thereby encounters already existing social dynamics, problems and opportunities that condition which economic recovery will be possible and politically desired.

A New Narrative of Hope and a Global Resilience Council for UN75+25 Public Lecture

Organized by FOGGS - The Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability

Out-of-the-box ideas for the future of the United Nations debated with experts and your participation through Q&A.

You Want to Destroy Capitalism? Punch Competition! Interview

Organized by The Barricade

It is not inequality or ownership over means of production that is the greatest problem in contemporary capitalist society. It is the competitive pursuit of profit – the pressure to constantly expand your turnover, sales, profits in ever-growing competition with others. This is what Albena Azmanova – an associate professor of Kent University and a leading British political theorist, believes. In a comprehensive interview, given to The Barricade’s Maria Cernat, Azmanova discusses her maverick ideas.

Capitalism on Edge Interview

How Fighting Precarity Can Achieve Radical Change Without Utopia or Crisis

Organized by The New Books Network

Capitalism seems to many to be in a sort of constant crisis, leaving many struggling to make ends meet. This desperation was intensified in 2008, and for many never went away in spite of claims of a general economic ‘recovery.’ More recently, the tensions and shortcomings of our current socioeconomic system have been exacerbated by the COVID-crisis, with poorly compensated frontline workers struggling to stay safe in workplaces that have failed to take adequate care of their health and safety.

Convivialism. Convivialism? Event

Organized by Convivialism Transnational

As a sympathetic outsider to the convivialist position, I will question the priority they give to concerns with inequality over those with poverty as well as their endorsement of competition (why not speak of "interactions" instead). What instruments does convivialism supply for the struggle against capitalism?

The Second Convivialist Manifesto: Towards a Post-Neoliberal World

Citizens-Centered Conference on the Future of Europe Event

Organized by Citizens Take Over Europe

In this discussion of the Open Letter to Angela Merkel for a citizens-centered Conference on the Future of Europe (to mark the beginning of the German EU presidency), I caution against turning democracy into a neoliberal fantasy: political elites should not be allowed to dump their responsibility onto the people, allegedly in the name of democracy.

A Call for a New European Social Contract Event

Organized by Costas Douzinas

While supporting this appeal for a democratic social contract of the EU, I caution that our political leadership is quite apt at hijacking democracy and transforming it into a neoliberal fantasy (to use Jodi Dean's phrasing) - and an instrument deployed for the consolidation of global capitalism.

ACUNS Annual Meeting Event

UN @ 75: The Future of Partnership and Multilateralism

Organized by Academic Council on the United Nations System

I will give a paper "Precarity Capitalism, COVID-19 and the Quest(s) for Growth and Justice" to the panel: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs".

Pandemic Corona and the Changing Political and Economic Scenario of the World Event

Organized by Noida International University

In an international webinar hosted by the Noida International University (India), I will address the place of the European Union in the post-pandemic geopolitical landscape: to understand how the EU might change the world, we need to understand how the EU is changing.
Event Poster and Schedule

Social Crisis after Covid-19 Interview

Organized by Institute for Alternative Policies ENA

I speak to ENA elaborating on a series of policy proposals aiming at reducing the general precarity and insecurity of our era, which has been exacerbated by the crisis.
I suggest that we need to overcome the standard redistributive approaches and shift interest from inequalities to poverty and from intervention in the realm of redistribution to the realm of production.

In, Out and Shake It All About Event

EU, Brexit and the UK-Norway Comparison

Organized by University of Kent Brussels School of International Studies

The Global Europe Centre (Brussels School of International Studies) and the ARENA Centre for European Studies (University of Oslo) join forces to explore the issues of Brexit and the experience of Norway.

Marx and Europe Event

Organized by Collège Thomas More

International seminar with Etienne Balibar, Albena Azmanova and Raúl Fornet-Betancourt.

31st Council of the European Greens Event

Organized by Council of the European Green Party

I will open the session on Covid-19 and social justice with a reflection on the gravity of economic and social insecurity (precarity) as the key problem of our times and the importance of building a strong European Social Union.
The Council is the highest decision-making body of the party.

Addressing the Sustainability Challenge by Inclusion Event

Growth - Climate - Society - Labour

Organized by Delphi Economic Forum

In this panel of scholars and thinkers, I propose that we refocus the social justice agenda on fighting precarity, and away from the growth-and-redistribution agenda which is prevailing now.

The Rise of the Global Precariat Event

Organized by POSTHOC

I discuss my new book "Capitalism on Edge: How Fighting Precarity Can Achieve Radical Change Without Crisis or Utopia".

The Individual and Community Event

Beyond the Liberal-Communitarian Debate

Organized by Foscari University of Venice

I hold a workshop "The political economy of liberal communities" focused on my concept of a 'political economy of trust', as articulated, most recently, in my book Capitalism on Edge.

The Ends of Precarity Capitalism Event

An Author Meets Critics Panel

Organized by University of Kent Brussels School of International Studies

Claus Offe, Amy, Allen, Lea Ypi and Paul Apostolidis discuss with Albena Azmanova the avenues of critique of capitalism and radical change as raised in her new book Capitalism on Edge and as they manifest in the current conjuncture. A panel convened by Azar Dakwar.
Event Details and Schedule

Covid 19, Democratic Ownership and the Future of the Economy Event

Organized by Another Europe

In this session, we explore what coronavirus means for the future of public ownership and economic democracy. Will the big state stick around, and is that what we want? What would a democratic economy look like? And what should the left be saying and doing to get there?

Battlegrounds of Justice - What Really Grieves the 99% Event

Organized by University of Iceland, EDDA Research Centre

Before the pandemic, progressive forces were mobilising under the banner of fighting inequality. The pandemic, however, has revealed that the scourge of our societies is the generalised precarity — the massive economic and social fragility that four decades of cuts to public spending created. What policies are necessary for a swift change of direction?
All Conference Videos

Pandemic and Politics Event

COVID-19, Global Crisis and the Challenge to Humanity

Organized by University of Kent Brussels School of International Studies

In this webinar, my colleagues Adrian Pabst, Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels, and I discuss the political world of COVID-19 responses, the effectiveness of politicians, the hidden politics behind the health management and the potential of new political environments.

The Outrage Against Inequality Interview

Organized by Political Bites - School of Politics and IR, University of Kent

In the fourth episode of Political Bites, Dr Iain MacKenzie introduces Dr Alebena Azmanova from the Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent to discuss the topic of the outrage against inequality.

An Open Letter to Angela Merkel on European Bonds Event

Organized by Citizens Take Over Europe

For Europe Day, I will participate in a panel discussion with some of the signatories of the open letter to Merkel on European bonds, hosted by Citizens Take Over Europe.
For information and registration please visit the event's Webex registration and Facebook pages.
All events of the day will be live-streamed on YouTube at the European Democracy Lab channel.

How to Analyze Contemporary Capitalism Public Lecture

Guest Lecture to the European History, Politics, and Society Colloquium

Organized by European Institute, Columbia University

I speak about my new book Capitalism on Edge, with a special focus on the process of conceiving and executing a politically relevant and theoretically rigorous research project.

[e-Salon] After COVID Event

Can we do Things Differently?

Organized by Full Circle House

An online salon discussion with three fantastic speakers about what we can learn from the extraordinary times in which we are suddenly living. COVID-19 has led each of us to slow down or totally halt some areas of our lives while other aspects seem to continue at the same relentless pace. Our speakers will reflect on whether this enforced slowing down can lead us to reflect critically on the world we have inadvertently built, with all its contradictions, vulnerabilities and environmental challenges; and whether it might be a time to think and act differently.

Book Launch Event

'Capitalism on Edge'

I discuss the political implications of my analysis, with Vula Tsetsi, Secretary-General of the Greens in the European Parliament, and Diederik Samsom, Head of Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Timmermans responsible for the European Green Deal.
Event Details

On "Capitalism on Edge" Interview

Organized by Zero Squared, a philosophy podcast from Zero Books

Douglas Lain and I discuss the renewal of Marxism and the prospects for radical politics: class struggle and counter-hegemony as the two available strategies of emancipation; how to subvert capitalism, rather than overthrow it.

At the Edge Interview

On Generalized Precarity and Subversive Pragmatism

Organized by This Is Hell!, WNUR Chicago

It is the peculiarity of our historical time that revolution is not in the cards - so I'm asking if this is not very likely to happen, do we have to give up? I say no, we can find resources for a radical change, without the crutch of a revolution, without the crutch of crisis, without the crutch of utopia - even the wonderful socialist utopia.

Is Socialism Making a Comeback? Public Lecture

Organized by The Battle of Ideas festival, London

The failure of Western economies to recover fully from the 2008 crisis has encouraged some to consider the benefits of socialism and a ‘post-capitalist’ future. But there are critics who argue that every attempt to create socialist societies has ended in either failure, misery or authoritarianism.

XVI International Political Philosophy Conference - Social Control Event

Action, Liberties, and Citizenship

Organized by Facultat de Filosofia, Universitat de Barcelona

I deliver a lecture on Populism and the Missing Crisis of Capitalism.

A Social Agenda for the Greens, or How to Reconcile Social and Environmental Justice Event

Organized by European Greens

I deliver the keynote address at the European Greens/EFA convention.

What’s Behind the Rise of AOC and the Squad? Public Lecture

Organized by The Battle of Ideas festival, London

In June 2018, a young Hispanic Democrat, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), caused a major upset by defeating a 10-term incumbent, Joe Crowley, in the party primary for New York's solidly Democrat 14th congressional district.
This panel of speakers, filmed at the Battle of Ideas Festival in November 2019, consider what is going on.

Prosperity, Equality, and Nature Event

The Trilemma of Democratic Capitalism

Organized by Reset DOC

Reset DOC Seminars 2019

The Social Question in The 21st Century Event

Organized by Goethe University

I present my proposal for the future research programme of the Frankfurt School.

Populism and the Transformation of Capitalism Event

Organized by Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities

On the State of European Democracies Event

Organized by Prince Michael von Liechtenstein

A guest speaker at a colloquium on the state of European democracies convened by Prince Michael von Liechtenstein.

Turkey's Judicial Tyranny Public Lecture

Video statement in support for academics in Turkey

Organized by Albena T. Azmanova

This statement was aired at the congress Academic Freedom and Politics at the University of Munich (LMU) together with a statement by Noam Chomsky and a statement by Steven Pinker.

Commentary for Bulgarian TV Interview

On the Open Letter following the Catalan Independence Referendum

Organized by Bulgarian National Television

Commentary on the Open Letter, initiated by Barbara Spinelli and Albena Azmanova, and submitted on November 3, 2017 to the presidents of the European Commission and European Council through the European Parliament: Upholding the Rule of Law in the European Union.

The Letter alerts to rule of law violations in the Spanish government's reaction to the Catalan independence referendum in 2017.

Commentary for Bulgarian Television Interview

On EU's response to the 2017 Catalan Independence Referendum

Organized by Bulgarian National Television

I note inconsistencies in EU's approach, as it failed to sanction the government of Mariano Rajoy for human rights violations in course of its reaction to the referendum for independence in Catalunya in 2017.

On Populism Event

Organized by Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana

A guest talk on populism hosted by the Philosophy department of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.

The Populist Upsurge and the Decline of Diversity Capital Event

Organized by Reset DOC

Reset DOC Seminars 2017

A Keynote Speaker at the International Graduate Conference Event

Organized by The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Intervention at the Symposium on the Refugee Crisis in Europe Event

Organized by Universität Duisburg-Essen, Institut für Philosophie

The Crisis of 'the Crisis of Europe' Event

Organized by The British Academy

A symposium on the future of the EU after Brexit organized by the British Academy, London

At least Brexit, the European Union is in a situation of radical ungovernability, stuck in a perpetual crisis management. The obvious solutions are considered politically unthinkable. The culprit is the institutionalized insecurity in the EU; the solution - fight precarity by implementing 'a political economy of trust'.

Religion, Righs and the Public Sphere Event

Istanbul Seminars

Organized by Reset DOC

While religiously inspired social movements, political parties, and charity institutions make an important contribution to society in terms of civil life and social cohesion, every religion can also play a negative role in radicalizing identities, in making compromises more difficult, and provoking violence and wars.

On Bureaucratic Theocracy and the Right to Politics Event

Organized by National University of Singapore

NUS 2016 Political Theory Symposium

Post-Neoliberal Capitalism? Interview

Organized by Against the Grain, KPFA, Berkeley, California

Where does capitalism stand today? If the system is crisis-ridden and hasn't delivered the goods to large sectors of the population, why aren't we in a revolutionary moment? And what has happened to the neoliberal version of capitalism that first emerged in the 1970s? Albena Azmanova contends that we've entered a new stage of capitalism, one in which a few are handed opportunities, and the rest are made to shoulder the risks.

On the EU's Ateleological Legitimacy Event

Organized by Center for European Studies Harvard

I discuss the nature of EU legitimacy - as European integration has no purpose other than the socially responsible rule.

Is Europe Boring Public Lecture

Organized by The Battle of Ideas festival, London

This short, terrific offering is far from boring as speakers do battle over why the European project might indeed bore us. From dubious claims that it's boring due to its success, to fresh insights on our deliberate exclusion since its inception, the debate gets heated.

On "The Scandal of Reason" Interview

A Critical Theory of Political Judgment

Organized by Columbia University Press

"The Scandal of Reason" Interview

A Critical Theory of Political Judgment

Organized by Rorotoko, cutting-edge intellectual interviews

On the Politics of Fear Interview

Organized by Reset DIALOGUES

Far-right populism and anti-establishment protest erupted already in the affluent 1990s. How come? I discuss my research into the political economy of precarity capitalism which I believe is generating the politics of fear.