The fourth CEE Forum will put its special emphasis on recent critiques
of contemporary democracy and the rule of law. Current discourses in
social sciences as well as in civil society almost daily produce new
ideas, suggestions and demands on how to significantly alter the
political and legal reality of our societies.
The exceptional importance
of these questions for our common future has long and clearly surpassed
national borders and produced an international discourse. Many
distinguished authors like Immanuel Wallerstein, Noam Chomsky, Jürgen
Habermas, Stéphane Hessel, Antonio Negri, Igor Štiks or Srečko Horvat
have spoken publicly on these pressing issues. They propose the increase
of elements of direct democracy in the political process and
significant political empowerment of the civil society and each
individual.