Culture War Goes Global? Geopolitics in a new era

  • 11.00 - 17.00
  • Wednesday 20 November 2024
  • Venue: The Hotel Brussels, Bd de Waterloo 38, 1000 Bruxelles

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About the conference

  • Has the culture war become a key driver of geopolitics?
  • Are cultural conflicts and uncertainties leaving the West unable to respond to a new era of great power conflict?
  • Are “values” at the heart of the international order – or a cover for hypocrisy?

Today, we often hear that “Western civilisation” is at stake in geopolitical conflicts. Many insist that new international challenges call into question the values and beliefs of the West. International rivals are said to have not just alternative economic or military strategies which pose a risk, but also alternative value-systems or even civilisations.

At the same time, many allege that the weakening position of the West is not just a matter of sluggish economies or under-prepared militaries, but also their cultural and moral confusion. If Western societies struggle to take pride in their history, feel pride in their countries, or even define what a woman is, how could they defend their interests on the international stage? This conference will ask how moral and cultural questions became so tied up in geopolitical discussions.

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By bringing together a diverse range of speakers, we hope to probe the way that competing cultural narratives – what is commonly called the culture war – are increasingly shaping not just politics domestically, but also internationally. We see this transformation in geopolitics in the rise of discussion around so-called “civilisation states” but also in the increased focus that “values” seem to play in foreign policy discussion. At the same time, global policymakers are increasingly attuned to potential cultural conflicts in the domestic politics of their geopolitical rivals.

We see a renewed discussion around what “Western Values” are and if and how these are at stake in major conflicts. For example, the idea of Western civilisation and values being “on the line” is often invoked in relation to support for Ukraine or Israel. At the same time, in both conflicts the West’s actions sometimes seem to catalyse support for those who position themselves explicitly against the West. As a Columbia University anti-Israel student protest group put it, ‘We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization. We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South’.

Further details regarding the programme, including speaker announcements and session descriptions, will be released soon. Stay tuned for more information.

Speakers include:

  • Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz, Associate Professor in Societal Security and Safety Department of Technology and Safety
  • Anton Bendarzsevszkij, Director at Oeconomus Economics Research Foundation
  • Bill Durodié visiting Professor MCC Brussels
  • Nathan Levine, Research Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China
  • Ashley Rindsberg, investigative journalist; author, The Gray Lady Winked: How the New York Times' misreporting, distortions and fabrications radically alter history
  • Ralph Schoellhammer, assistant professor of International Relations at Webster Vienna Private University, visiting fellow at MCC Budapest
  • Niccolo Soldo, writer
  • Krzysztof Tyszka-Drozdowski, writer with a specific focus on globalization, industrial policy, and international conflict

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