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Democratic Values & Civic Participation in Europe and Beyond

A Conference of the Miami-Florida Jean Monnet Center of Excellence

March 10-11, 2025
Florida International University - Modesto A. Maidique Campus - 11200 SW 8th Street - Miami, FL 33199
Monday, March 10 | 5:00 PM–6:30 PM | Keynote Address | FIU MMC | MARC Pavilion
Tuesday, March 11 | 9:00 AM–4:00 PM | Conference | FIU MMC | SIPA II – Room 260

The year 2024 was a “super election” year. In many European elections, including those for the European Parliament, as well as in the United States, governments changed, sparking a broader debate about democratic values and civic participation. This conference explores issues of inclusion and diversity, with a focus on democratic governance and resilience, and political participation by individuals and civic groups. What challenges do established democracies face in this regard, and how can they be addressed collectively? What can be done to combat apathy and polarization, which are fueled by misinformation and slow consensus-building in increasingly diverse societies? These questions have emerged prominently in both the U.S. and the EU, but they also require reflection on the broader geopolitical contexts in which democratic backsliding and polarization are taking place.

This two-day conference is free and open to FIU students and the public.

Monday, March 10, 2025 | MARC Building – MARC Pavilion

5:00 p.m. | Welcome & Opening Remarks

Shlomi Dinar, Ph.D.
Dean, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
Florida International University

5:15-6:30 p.m. | Keynote Address

Walter Goetz, Ph.D.
Head of the Office
European Parliament Liaison Office in Washington D.C.
The European Parliament’s role in upholding transatlantic democratic values

6:30-8:00 p.m. | Reception (by invitation only)

Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | SIPA II –  Room 260

9:00 a.m. | Welcome & Opening Remarks

Agatha Caraballo, Ph.D.
Founding Director of the Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership Teaching Professor, Department of Public Policy & Administration
Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs

Expand all
  • 9:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Panel I: Democratic values & Civic Participation: contexts and issues

    This panel introduces the concepts of democratic values and civic participation, and highlights their relevance for pluralistic, liberal democracies. What are the historical, normative and contextual foundations for vibrant democratic political cultures?

    Moderator: Markus Thiel, Professor, Politics & International Relations; Director, Miami-Florida Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, FIU

    Panelists

    • Kirsten E. Wood, Ph.D.
      Associate Professor, Department of History
      Florida International University
      American Civic Participation and Democratic Possibilities as seen from the Early Republic's Taverns

    • Alicia Steinmetz, Ph.D.
      Assistant Director, Department of Politics & International Relations
      Florida International University
      Democracy and the Art of Argumentation

    • Kathleen McInnis, Ph.D.
      Director, Smart Woman, Smart Power Initiative
      Senior Fellow, Defense & Security
      Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
      The Story of a Democracy
  • 10:55 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. | Consular roundtable on comparative gender equality policies

    Moderator and panel participants to be announced.

  • 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Panel II: Democratic resilience and participation in a transatlantic comparison

    This panel takes a closer look at the challenges of established democracies on both sides of the Atlantic, such as polarization and populism as well as diversity and inequality, and explores to what degree democratic resilience can be achieved or maintained.

    Moderator: Tatiana Kostadinova, Ph.D., Professor, Professor, Department of Politics & International Relations; Director, European & Eurasian Studies Program, FIU

    Panelists

    • Mauro Barisione, Ph.D.
      Professor, Department of Sociology and Political Science
      University of Milano, Italy
      Transatlantic Lessons in Political Polarization

    • Regis Dandoy, Ph.D.
      Professor, Center for European Studies
      Universidad San Francisco de Quito
      Transatlantic democratic support? The European missions of election observation in the Americas

    • Ekaterina R. Rashkova, Ph.D.
      Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, Public Governance and Management unit
      Director, PPE Utrecht
      Utrecht University School of Governance, The Netherlands
      The role of political parties in mobilizing the migrant vote
  • 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. | Lunch

    This event is by invitation only.

  • 2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Panel III: From Local to global, from Miami to the world: possibilities & linkages

    This conversational panel highlights the local-global connections that are fundamental for vibrant democratic political cultures, as they are reflected in Miami/Florida and beyond.

    Moderator: Rebecca Friedman, Professor of History, FIU; Founding Director, Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab; Director of Research, iWitness: IPC Institute of Visual Journalism

    Panelists

    • Carl-Philippe Juste
      Miami Herald photojournalist and community activist 

    • Tameka Bradley Hobbs, Ph.D.
      Library Regional Manager
      Broward County African American Research and Cultural Center
      Historian, educator, author, and activist

    Concluding reception with Iwitness exhibit

eu-flag.jpg  Made possible through generous support from the European Commission.