RfD | June: 💥 Defence, ⚽️ Football, & 🧠 Consociationalism
Dear Room for Discussion Community,
What an eventful month it has been! The events of the past few weeks did not leave us unaffected, neither as a platform nor as individuals. We had to cancel numerous interviews, but seek to hold them soon in the future. Please keep an eye our website and social media for updates. Yet, we were able to hold some very important conversations - some related and some unrelated to the protests - and we will continue to do so in June!
Future Interviews
What’s coming up in June? 💥⚽️🇪🇺
RESCHEDULED: Lustrum: Kasja Ollengren -- 5th of June, 17:00-18:00, Location TBA (English)
With the largest war on the European continent since 1945, we are living in tumultuous times. We are honoured to have the Dutch minister of Defence joining us to discuss the state of Dutch military war preparedness, the war in Ukraine and her vision of balancing diplomacy and security.
To join us for the interview happening on 5th of June at 17:00, sign up for tickets here. The location will be announced.
RESCHEDULED: Lustrum: Bernd Reichart -- 11th of June, 13:00-14:00, E-Hall, Roeterseiland (English)
To close off our lustrum series, we are delighted to host Bernd Reichard the CEO of the sports management firm A22 and the superleague. The superleague is the biggest story in football, having the potential to radically change international club football. We are looking forward to talk with the man at the center of it all about why he thinks such a change is necessary, the CJEU ruling, and the Bernd’s next steps to get ahead of UEFA.
Join us on the 11th of June at 13:00 in the E-Hall for a debate about and beyond the world of football.
Arend Lijphart -- 11th of June, 19:00-20:00, E-Hall, Roeterseiland (English)(Interview over Video Call)
How can we best govern deeply divided societies? This question is at the core of Prof. Arend Lijphart’s research, and is no less relevant to contemporary politics than it was in the 1960s when Prof. Lijphart first began publishing on consociationalism and the differences between majoritarian and consensus democracies.
Prof. Arend Lijphart is currently a Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. His work is foundational to the study of democratic systems.
It is our honor to be able to speak to Prof. Lijphart about power-sharing in divided societies, and ask him about how patterns across democracies can help us think about contemporary divisions in politics. Join us for this remote live interview in the E-Hall on June 11, from 19:00-20:00.
Gert-Jan Segers -- 20th of June, 13:00-14:00, E-Hall, Roeterseiland (English)
We are excited to host Gert Jan Segers, former head of the Christian Union (CU) to talk about the new government. As leader of the CU, he gave Rutte III and IV its majority. Currently, he is the host of the Podcast Segers & Dijkhof and the chair of the supervisory board of the "gelijkwaardig herstel" which concerns itself with restitution of the victims of the Dutch Childcare benefits scandal.
We will ask the kingmaker of the last two governments how he reflects on the new government and the long and unusual formation process. We'll also discussed the increased polarization in The Netherlands and how we can restore trust in institutions.
Join us on June 20th from 13:00-14:00, to get first-hand insights into the past and future of Dutch politics.
Past Interviews: What happened in May?
Bas Eickhout & Mohammed Chahim, 22nd of May
On the 22nd of May we had the pleasure to welcome Spitzenkandidate of the Greens, and #1 of GroenLinks/PvdA Bas Eickhout, and #2 Mohammed Chahim. In an hour, we talked about the future of the European Union after a right-wing election result, and how likely such a right-wing election result really was. Bas and Mohammed reflected on the potential failures of the left, both on a European level and on a national level in the Netherlands, and spoke about their future ambitions for their upcoming terms.
Furthermore, we spoke specifically about the new policy directions the EU is taking on sustainability, and the challenges that students are facing when taking to the polls this Thursday, both speaking about housing crises and the situation in Palestine.
Femke Halsema -- 30th of May
[English below]
Afgelopen donderdag hadden we een heel bijzonder interviewen op het stadhuis van Amsterdam met burgermeester Halsema. Vanwege veiligheidsredenen kon het interview helaas niet doorgaan op Roeterscampus. In plaats daarvan was er plek voor ongeveer 50 studenten om kritische vragen aan burgemeester Halsema te stellen over het politie optreden rondom de pro-Palestina protesten de laatste paar weken. OMet burgemeester Halsema spraken we over het politie optreden, de geschiedenis van bezettingen in Nederland en de verharding van de discussie rondom dit onderwerp.
Last Thursday, we had a very special interview at Amsterdam City Hall with Mayor Halsema. For security reasons, the interview unfortunately could not take place at the Roeterseiland Campus. Instead, there was room for about 50 students to ask Mayor Halsema critical questions about the police actions surrounding the pro-Palestine protests in recent weeks. With Mayor Halsema, we discussed the police actions, the history of occupations in the Netherlands, and the intensification of the debate on this topic.
Emotions run high, both regarding the situation in Israel and Palestine, and regarding the protests themselves. We remain committed to talk about the things that matter in a way that integrates, respects and appreciates diverse opinions. Currently, we are in the process of organising events that facilitate discussions about these topics at our university. Please stay tuned for updates on this!
Stay tuned for those events and see you there!
Room for Discussion Team