How the coronavirus pandemic has changed society
Adult education centre: Lecture on 12 January, 7 p.m., TIETZ, event hall
On Thursday, 12 January, from 7 to 8.30 p.m., interested parties are invited to the lecture "Pandemic and populism. What has Corona done to our society?" in the event room at the TIETZ. After presenting the latest scientific findings on how almost three years of the coronavirus pandemic have changed our coexistence and politics, speaker Dr Steven Schäller will discuss their experiences and questions with the audience.
Participation is free of charge. Registration is possible by telephone on 0371 488-4343 or online at www.vhs-chemnitz.de/kurs/w2210131.
The coronavirus pandemic, financial and euro crisis, migration and refugee crisis and, most recently, the war in Ukraine: the world seems to be in a permanent state of emergency. This is changing the society we live in and the politics we use to navigate our way through democratic processes.
Polarisation tendencies in society are growing into divisions and we get the impression that we no longer understand each other. In addition, the party system is experiencing the formation of new small parties and existing parties, some of which represent populist opinions, are gaining more social support. Simple answers and solutions to what are actually complex issues, such as the crises mentioned above, are becoming more popular and are being focussed on by political and civil society actors through new exchange and protest formats.
Change and adaptation are part of everyday life in liberal-democratic societies. Political and economic crises are not uncommon. Different parties and other political actors can benefit from this, depending on their profile and approaches to solutions. But at some point the question arises: how much crisis pressure can the political system withstand?
Dr Steven Schäller is a research associate at the Mercator Forum Migration and Democracy (MIDEM) at the Technical University of Dresden. His research there includes right-wing populism and extremism, protest movements and the Identitarian movement.