‘Evens Lecture - Ivan Krastev’

The Evens Foundation invites you to its second Evens Lecture, for which we are honoured to welcome Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna, as our speaker.

“The Age of Imitation and Its Discontents”

The end of the Cold War gave birth to the age of imitation. This imitation had different names - globalization, democratization, integration, but the meaning was clear. Imitating the West, its values, institutions and practices was the imperative.

Looking back at the three post-Cold war decades and reflecting on the current crisis of liberal democracy, Krastev tries to suggest: Why does imitation fuel resentment and hostility? Why do many imitators of foreign institutions feel like impostors? And why not only imitators but the imitated turned against the post-1989 liberal order?

The Evens Lecture Series is a new Evens Foundation initiative, established to strengthen its commitment as an active contributor to the quality of the public debate on pressing issues of our times. Renowned speakers from different backgrounds will be asked to reflect on the core topics in the Foundation’s new strategic plan, starting from their own background and expertise.