SAFI’s 7th annual conference
30th September – 2nd October 2026 at the University of Bonn
Enabling Democracy
In recent years, the rise of authoritarian and populist tendencies within democracies once considered stable has become a matter of deep concern. Despite the urgency of this development, systematic knowledge of the underlying causes and the mechanisms capable of countering this development remains fragmented and incomplete. This points to a pressing need for reflection on what enables democracy to function and endure. The conference takes this challenge as its starting point. It seeks to identify the social, institutional, and normative foundations that sustain democratic governance and to explore how these can be strengthened. Theresfore it seeks a dialog between political science, sociology, law, philosophy, and related disciplines to chart new pathways for the renewal of democracy.
We are looking forward to panels on the following topics:
- Democratic Capabilities/Enabling Civil Society
- Necessities of Social Inclusion
- Modes of Participartion
- Social Cohesion and Collective Building
- Education and the Organization of Knowledge
- Trust and Commitment
- Modern Mechanisms of Democracy Protection
With keynote speeches by Cristina Lafont, Astrid Séville, Michaela Hailbronner and Lisa Herzog.
Preliminary Conference Programm
Conference Registration
You can registrate here.
To support the organization of the conference, we will kindly ask participants to contribute €100 to cover for the expenses, especially the conference dinner. You will receive an invoice.
However, we are aware that not all early-career scholars can avail funding for conference participation from their institutions. If you do not have access to funding, please reach out to us and we will explore possibilities for a waiver.
For enquiries, please contact us at enablingdemocracy@uni-bonn.de (Prof. Dr. Laura Münkler).
Special: SAFI’s Pre-Conference Workshop
In addition to the conference, a pre-conference workshop will be held for SAFI members on 30 September from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. This will provide an opportunity to discuss selected papers in detail. Please write to us if you would like to participate.
Photo by Volker Lannert/Bonn University