Alumni event | Debat

Cleveringa Meeting Leiden 2022

Date: Monday 28 November 2022
Time: 20:00 - 21:15
Location: Academy Building Leiden & Online
Room: Groot Auditorium / Online

You will be able to ask your questions via WhatsApp messages. The number you can use for this purpose only between 20:00 - 21.15 hrs tonight (Amsterdam Time) is +31 6 5381 9495.

Cleveringa Meeting Leiden 2022:
Is there a way back to start talking with each other again? That is the question we will put to professors Kutsal Yesilkagit and Dominique Moïsi at the hybrid 2022 Leiden Cleveringa meeting. In the past, we were able to channel major conflicts of interest through the Dutch polder model. Can we fall back on that again, or has polarisation already increased too much? What would the alternative be?

These questions are the subject of the 2022 Leiden Cleveringa Meeting entitled:

'Increasing Polarisation: Is there a Cure?'

The meeting will be held in the Great Auditorium, the place where Professor Cleveringa delivered his impassioned speech, and can also be followed online. After their introductory presentations, Professors Yesilkagit and Moïsi will debate the topic among themselves and with guests attending in the Auditorium or online.

As we have international alumni all around the world, the meeting will be held in English.

Summary - Speakers - Programme - Registration - Contact

Increasing Polarisation: Is there a Cure?

All over the world, polarisation is on the rise. In an international context, we see the walls that fell at the end of the Cold War being rebuilt in other forms. The war in Ukraine and rising tensions between China and Taiwan are the most shocking examples. But even within countries, bridges between groups would seem to be breaking down: people are less and less willing to understand each other, and fierce language and harsh actions are increasing. In the US, supporters and opponents of abortion, and supporters and opponents of Trump, have long since stopped speaking to each other. In our country, farmers literally use heavy means – tractors and agricultural machines – to bolster their protests, while in parliament, language more and more sharpens divisions and makes compromise impossible.

Is there a way back to start talking with each other again? That is the question we will put to two professors at the 2022 Leiden Cleveringa meeting. In the past, we were able to channel major conflicts of interest through the Dutch polder model. Can we fall back on that again, or has polarisation already increased too much? What would the alternative be? Are there other ways to take the sting out of conflicts? Until 20 years ago, Dutch parliament chairs intervened if the word ‘lie’ was used, now they are struggling to stop unacceptable comparisons with the Second World War, threats of tribunals and qualifications like ‘spy’ and ‘murderer’ for a cabinet minister, not to mention major disturbances. The many small parties in the Dutch parliament would seem to need verbal violence to make themselves audible and visible. In Germany, they limit these by an electoral threshold. Should we go that way too, or are there other solutions?

The two introductory talks will be followed by a debate between Professors Yesilkagit en Moïsi, and with guests attending in the Auditorium or online.

Prof. Dominique Moïsi

Professor Dominique Moïsi is a senior advisor of the Paris-based Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) and Visiting Professor at King’s College London. At Leiden University he is the first holder of the Owada chair, which focuses on interaction between international law and international relations through interdisciplinary approaches. Moïsi has published extensively on polarisation and the role of emotions in political discourse and international relations.

Prof. Kutsal Yesilkagit

As a professor of International Governance, Kutsal Yesilkagit is driven by a desire to understand how political-administrative systems work. He researches how politicians, civil servants and public institutions influence the outcomes of policies and social events, and thereby the lives of individual citizens and groups. He is also one of the instigators of a new research programme on politics and governing in polarized societies at Leiden University.

19.30 Coffee & tea for all people attending in person

20.00 Start of the debate and online streaming

21.15 End of meeting & online streaming, start drinks for the attending guest

Please note that by registering for this event you consent to the fact that you may appear in the livestream and/or you may be featured in photographs taken to promote future Cleveringa Meetings.

Date	: Monday 28 November 2022
Time lecture	: 20:00-21:15 (CET)
Live location	: Academy Building, Rapenburg 73, Leiden
Online	: Broadcast to all our Leiden alumni around the world
Language	: English
Registration	: Please choose an option below
Option 1	: Attending the live event in the Academy Builing, Leiden
Option 2	: Online streaming on your computer

Costs:
€ 12.50 p.p. for student members of LUF (coffee, lecture & drinks)
€ 15.- p.p. for other students (coffee, lecture & drinks)
€ 17.50 p.p. for alumni (coffee, lecture & drinks)
€ 0.– p.p. for online attendance

After registration, you can transfer the amount due to account number NL13ABNA0 56 61 23 851 in the name of G.V. van Duyneveldt, mentioning Cleveringa meeting.
Your registration is only valid once the participant fee has been received. We regret that no refunds will be given. Partners and non-alumni are also welcome.

Note: The number of seats in the Great Auditorium is limited.

Prof. R.B. (Bas) ter Haar Romeny, Voorzitter (1986 - SSR)
M.J. (Michael) Juffermans, Secretaris (1990 -Quintus)
G.V. van Duyneveldt, Penningmeester (1991 - Augustinus)
W.R.J. (Wiltfried) Idema, Commissaris Alumnirelaties (1980 - Minerva)
P.G. (Peter) Nederpel, Commissaris Alumnirelaties (1989 - Horus Fonds, Catena
J. (Julia) Sterneberg, Commissaris Studentenrelaties (2019- Minerva)

During the Second World War, on 26 November 1940, several professors from Leiden gave protest speeches following the dismissal of their Jewish colleagues. In his protest speech Professor Cleveringa, the dean of the Faculty of Law, explained in precise detail why the measures introduced by the German occupier were in violation of international law.

Professor Van Holk, a professor of theology, also gave a protest speech and devoted his subsequent lecture to the Jewish philosopher Spinoza.

To commemorate these famous protest speeches, the Leiden University Fund, in collaboration with the Cleveringa committees, holds its annual Cleveringa meetings around 26 November (also known as the 26 November Meetings) in which academics from Leiden give lectures all around the world.

Leiden University Fund
Cleveringa@luf.leidenuniv.nl