Partner ACES

Aankomende programma’s

15 12 25

Europe, Accountability & Palestine: a Shift in European Perceptions of International Law Violations in Gaza?

As Israel’s war on Gaza has resulted in mass killing, displacement, and the destruction of nearly every aspect of civilian life, European states face urgent questions about their complicity and responsibilities under international and European law. This roundtable examines Europe’s role and responsibility, and the legal and civic mobilisation emerging in response to the genocide in Gaza.

Programma’s uit het verleden

27 11 25

Building Networks of Consent and Spaces of Joy in the Ruins of Social Media

Social Media: We Can Change the Defaults

Christine Lemmer-Webber, best known as co-author of ActivityPub, the decentralized social networking protocol, will speak about the crisis technologists face. Why must we revise the default assumptions of the web 2.0 era? She will introduce the work the Spritely Institute is doing to make a positive future possible.

25 11 25

From Liverpool to Rotterdam, from Marseille to Detroit

Port Cities: Racism, Urbanism, and Resistance

This is the Amsterdam book launch of Sam Wetherell’s award-winning book, Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain (Bloomsbury, 2025). The book explores deindustrialization, racial divides, decolonisation, and the impact of the built environment on society, and offers new ways to think about port cities: such as Rotterdam, Marseille, Detroit, and Baltimore.

04 11 25

Towards a common approach to Europe’s colonial past

European Integration and Co-Imperialism

Until recently, the former imperial nation states of Europe often regarded themselves as historically homogeneous nation states with a colonial past that was separate from their European continental history. Recent research shows that the European integration process was closely intertwined with modern imperialism and decolonization. Tonight, our speakers will discuss these new developments in historiography.

*This program is fully booked, please sign up for our livestream*

31 10 25

The Dutch General Election Results 2025: How Did We Get Here?

On October 29 Dutch voters are heading to the polls for yet another General Election. What to think about the election results? At this event, political experts will discuss this and attempt to make sense of the conflicts that preceded them, as well as what the voters think.

*Please note: there will be no recording available afterwards this event*

16 10 25

What the Merger between DPG Media and RTL Nederland Tells Us about News Media Resilience in Europe

The Precarious Situation of the News

Media concentration is a growing concern across Europe, as ownership increasingly consolidates in the hands of a few major players. High concentration can reduce media pluralism, limit the diversity of viewpoints, and increase the influence of owners over public debate. Why is news media is in such a precarious situation, and what can be done?

15 10 25

European Defence and the Trade-offs We Must (or Must Not) Make 

A roundtable discussion on one of the most urgent issues of our time: what needs to be done to shore-up European defence, and what trade-offs (if any) are necessary to do so? The debate, chaired by ACES co-director Theresa Kuhn, brings together four experts on Europe’s (geo-)politics to shed light on this question.

*Please note: there will be no livestream available for this event*

17 06 25

Ambient Extremism in Reactionary Digital Politics

In this second talk of ACES’s “Diagonalism” series, Robert Topinka engages with the idea of “ambient extremism.” This type of contemporary digital reactionary politics entails a dissolution of distinctions between democracy and authoritarianism, information and misinformation, legitimacy and illegibility. How does this phenomenon reshape the terrain of democratic discourse and, thus, democratic public life generally speaking?

08 05 25

PEN Belarus’s fight for freedom of literary expression and human rights

Forbidden Voices

Under the present Lukashenko regime, freedom of literary expression in Belarus has ceased to exist. Writers are persecuted and locked away, some have fled. In exile, PEN Belarus continues to fight for Belarusian voices to be heard and read. Tonight, our panel will shed light on this ongoing struggle.

23 04 25

Surviving an Intemperate Climate

Global warming is the existential threat facing our planet, but an increasingly challenging constitutional climate inflames it further. Drawing on her book Human Rights: The Case for the Defence (Penguin, 2024), Shami Chakrabarti will describe the challenges to human rights posed by the climate emergency alongside the ways in which these values may help us navigate our way to just transition.

27 02 25

The German Elections of 2025: Campaigns and Consequences

The German Federal Elections were held on Sunday, 23 February. Against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions and economic insecurities, citizens and leaders across Europe pay close attention to German domestic politics. Tonight, Gianna Eick, Theresa Kuhn, and Andreas Schuck will discuss the dynamics of campaigns and the political consequences of the elections in Germany and beyond. Moderation: Katjana Gattermann.

14 02 25

POSTPONED: Surviving an Intemperate Climate

14 11 24

Religious Radicalisations and a Crisis of Culture

In conversation with Olivier Roy, we discuss the tension and connection between the crisis of culture and religious radicalisations in both Islam and Western societies. How should we understand the call for Jihad? And what does ‘European culture’ mean today?

This program is fully booked.

07 11 24

Air and Love: A Story of Food, Family and Belonging

**Due to technical issues there won’t be a livestream available**

In her new book, Air and Love: A Story of Food, Family and Belonging, Or Rosenboim explores the history of modern displacement by retracing micro-histories of family migrations from Samarkand and Riga to the Middle East in 1860-1960. She reconstructs long-lost migration routes and retraces the food that migrants cooked on the road, to explore questions of identity and belonging, that have shaped not only individual lives but also global order. By weaving these stories into the larger narratives of contemporary history, Rosenboim offers a new perspective on the history of the modern world.

06 11 24

Geopolitiek en de Europese Unie na de Amerikaanse verkiezingen

Hoogmoed en onmacht

Een geopolitieke speler worden op het wereldtoneel – dat is het streven van de Europese Unie. Maar kan ze haar torenhoge ambities wel waarmaken? Hoe moet de EU zich positioneren naast andere globale acteurs zoals de VS? In zijn boek Hoogmoed en onmacht onderzoekt Tom de Bruijn deze vragen vanuit historisch en persoonlijk perspectief.

**Wegens een technische storing is er helaas geen livestream mogelijk**

Een dag na de Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen spreken we hierover met de auteur en met gasten Kajsa Ollongren, Theresa Kuhn, Luuk van Middelaar, René Cuperus en Ton Nijhuis.

03 10 24

The Kazakh Spring

Protests and Pro-democracy Movements in Autocracies

How can decentralized protest movements challenge entrenched, repressive, and highly resilient authoritarian regimes? This question is central to Diana T. Kudaibergen’s groundbreaking new book, The Kazakh Spring: Digital Activism and the Challenge to Dictatorship. Together with renowned political scientists and sociologists we discuss the dynamics between authoritarian regimes and democratization movements – with a focus on Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

24 06 24

Diagonalism and the Crisis of Liberalism Series

A Hero’s Journey? Ideological Entrepreneurs and Reactionary Digital Politics

This is the first talk in a series that looks at how the disruptive affordances and practices of global digital culture relate to political reconfigurations symptomatic of a broader crisis of liberalism. Tonight, Alan Finlayson will explain what “reactionary digital politics” is, how it is shaped by “ideological entrepreneurs,” and how this is reconfiguring our understanding of what it is to be political.

11 06 24

European Elections Outcome and the Future of European Politics

European citizens are going to the polls between 6 and 9 June 2024. During this roundtable, experts will discuss the outcome of the European Parliament elections and its implications for the future of Europe.

31 05 24

Co-Radicalisation of Young Europeans

Nativist and Islamist Radicalism in Europe

From 2019 to 2024, Ayhan Kaya did extensive research on what’s causing radicalization among young Europeans with backgrounds both ‘native’ and ‘Muslim’ focusing on radical Islamism and right-wing extremism. In the past two decades since 9/11, these two groups have been studied separately, emphasizing the polarization between them. In reality, they face similar problems like being marginalized in society economically, politically, and psychologically.

28 05 24

EU Food Governance after the Farmers’ Protests

Over the last months, farmers across Europe have been protesting against EU environmental policies – and EU policy makers seem to have been listening. The promises of the European Green Deal and of the Farm to Fork Strategy seem to belong to a different era. How can the link between environmental and social sustainability, and food production be revived?

22 05 24

Campaign Dynamics and Citizen Perspectives

The European Parliament Elections 2024

The campaigns for the European Parliament elections are currently gaining momentum across Europe as 400 million voters will be heading to the polls between 6 and 9 June 2024. During this event, Wouter van der Brug, Katjana Gattermann, Elske van den Hoogen, and Theresa Kuhn will talk about major developments in the campaigns and analyse citizen perspectives towards Europe and the elections.

22 04 24

Rising AI and the Concentration of Corporate Power

Technology reshapes our societies. AI, platform economy and other technological developments are remaking our daily routines, practices, and ways of being in the world. These changes also come with shifts in power dynamics between corporations, states, and citizens, giving rise to novel political questions. This multidisciplinary event delves into the concentration of power held by Big Tech companies, the societal challenges arising from this concentration, and potential strategies to uphold public imperatives.

16 04 24

European Populism and the Looming European Parliamentary Elections

After a very turbulent few years, populism remains a defining feature of ongoing electoral politics in Europe and the world. This last year we’ve seen some reversals in the hold that (radical right) populist parties have – such as the electoral defeat of Poland’s Law and Justice party, but also major new gains – such as the electoral victory of Wilders’s PVV in the Netherlands. This evening, scholars Sarah de Lange, Robin de Bruin, and Brian Burgoon will discuss the different aspects of populist politics in Europe and the World.

20 03 24

Green Clouds? Towards Sustainable Data Infrastructure

In our rapidly digitizing world, the demand for data storage and processing has surged, leading to the proliferation of data centers and cloud computing infrastructure. However, this exponential growth comes with significant environmental costs, as data infrastructure consumes vast amounts of energy and contribute to carbon emissions. This roundtable addresses this pressing issue, delving into the critical intersection of technology and environmental sustainability from the civil society perspective.

23 02 24

Welcome to the New Future of the Tech Industry

Data Is Dead

The future of the tech industry is in infrastructure, not data. This means that those companies that control key infrastructure, like chips and cloud computing, hold sway. Companies like ASML, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), rather than X or Meta, will become the most powerful players. Is it their choices that will influence what our collective futures look like? Do we need to adapt our understanding of power in the tech sector to this new reality?

08 02 24

Knowledge-Driven Power in a Digitized World

Who holds, controls, and creates power in contemporary societies? On the occasion of their new book, The New Knowledge: Information, Data and the Remaking of Global Power, Blayne Haggart and Natasha Tusikov will present their answer to this question. They will take us along from Google’s Internet-of-Things projects, new modes of property and knowing that arose during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ideology through which power is exercised.

26 01 24

Political challenges after the EU’s AI Act

Building the European AI Future

In December 2023, the EU finally reached agreement over the AI Act, celebrated as the legal fundament for a safe and prosperous digital European future. Look past the political accord, however, and central questions are unanswered: from managing the wider societal impact of AI and its military implications to ensuring that the AI Act rules are actually enforced. This event explores the political challenges that emerge—or remain—in AI governance now that an EU framework has been agreed upon.

08 12 23

The Western Liberal Order from Foundation to Fracture

Geopolitics and Democracy

With the launch of the book Geopolitics and Democracy we explore the fortunes and fragility of the international liberal order, where nation-states invest in international openness and multilateralism on the one hand and in military preparedness on the other. The book provides a novel argument and historical evidence explaining why the Western liberal international order emerged and why it is under threat from anti-globalist forces today.

05 12 23

Making it Political: China, the EU, and Technology Standards

Technological standards are at the center stage of the competition between China and the EU. China promotes their own standards in the EU and on the international stage, which gives them a leading role in the geopolitics of technology. This evening we discuss the nature of this interaction between China and the EU.

10 11 23

‘The family’ in migration politics

Strange(r) Families

“Family” is the main reason why migrants are permitted to move to European countries. But who decides what a ‘proper’ family is? Or what families are ‘deserving’ enough to live here? Families which include “strangers” – meaning non-citizens – require state permission to live together in Europe. For families which are “strange” – who diverge from the norm – such state permission is not self-evident. Same-sex families or polygamous families are commonly denied family migration rights. Who and what states consider “family” is therefore key to defining who gets to legally migrate to and reside in Europe.

09 11 23

Growing Prominence and Influence of the EU’s Eastern Member States

Europe’s Periphery at the Core

Almost twenty years after the accession of the first post-communist countries to the EU, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) today is a crucial venue of Europe’s geopolitics. Not only do current events such as the war in Ukraine take place within the broader Eastern European sphere, but the member states of the region themselves have become ever more assertive and influential on a number of terrains.

03 11 23

Activists and Scholars on Security and Peace

How to Build a Caring Feminist Foreign Policy?

Last year the Dutch government announced that it would pursue a Feminist Foreign Policy, which was to be developed in consultation with civil society and knowledge institutions. On 1 and 2 November 2023 the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts an international conference on ‘Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy’, thereby profiling itself as the latest adopter of a Feminist Foreign Policy. But whose voices and knowledge have actually made it into the Dutch Feminist Foreign Policy? And whose voices and knowledge have been sidelined?

31 10 23

Power and the Future of the Digital Society

Eaten by the Internet

Our world is eaten by the Internet. This means that those who control the Internet control the bounds of public speech, economic production, social cohesion, and politics, making its infrastructure a core political terrain in the networked age. This evening we honor a new book about the power of Big Tech and the future of the digital society, Eaten by the Internet. The discussion with the book’s authors and editor will make Internet infrastructure visible as a key force of political power and urge us to ask how can we ensure the Internet will sustain us, rather than consume us?

28 09 23

Stories of Climate Breakdown: Emotions and Inequalities

Climate change is having profound and distressing impact across the world. The ways in which the effects of climate breakdown are felt, lived, and experienced are deeply varied and uneven. In this event we will discuss the role of emotions in these lived experiences, exploring in particular the place of storytelling and narratives in emotional responses to climate breakdown.

13 09 23

How we got here, why they matter, and what our technological future will look like

“Chip Wars”

Computer chips have taken center stage in the current geopolitical conflicts. Many debates tend to depict these issues as new challenges, but they are not. The geopolitics of computer chips has a deep and complicated history. In this sixth event of our “Geopolitics of Technology” series, we will discuss how decades of globalization have built and re-built our supply chains; why and how states have always played a key role in chip markets; and how and why concepts of economic, political and military power intersect particularly in this technological field.

11 07 23

‘Strategic foresight’ building ‘strategic preparedness’ for a rapidly evolving world

Navigating the Future

In a rapidly evolving world driven by innovation, the ability to anticipate and prepare for future advancements is crucial. ‘Technological foresight’ has become paramount for policymakers as they navigate the path ahead, serving as a compass to evaluate the potential societal impacts of complex scientific and technological developments. It also aids decision-makers in gaining a more strategic understanding of the issues they must address.

20 06 23

Book Launch

The Lost Future and How to Reclaim It

The future seems increasingly uncertain. Our democracies are failing to prevent financial crises, energy shortages, climate change and war—so how can we look to the future with confidence? In his new book, The Lost Future: And How to Reclaim It, Jan Zielonka argues that it is democracy’s shortsightedness that makes politics stumble in our increasingly connected world. Tonight, he will discuss his book with Caroline de Gruyter and Luiza Bialasiewicz.

15 06 23

The road from state socialism through liberal democracy to autocracy

Democratic Erosion: The Case of Hungary

In the last decade, Hungary has received international attention for its democratic erosion. The country has been the first institutionally consolidated democracy to turn into an autocracy. How has this effect of ‘backsliding’ been possible? And what has marked the transition from democracy to autocracy? In this lecture the process of democratic transition as well as the main factors that allowed the Hungarian government to undergo the development without meaningful push-back will be discussed.

31 05 23

The State of European Literature: Fatma Aydemir

Tonight, Fatma Aydemir, a major voice in German literature, will deliver the fourth State of European Literature. The State of European Literature is an annual lecture delivered by a renowned author or poet of international stature, about the state of literature and the state of Europe through the perspective of literature.

23 05 23

Public Spaces, Contested Places, Cultural Encounters

Diversity of Belonging in Europe

Belonging – or not belonging – lies at the core of many of the recent ‘crises’ and ongoing processes of change that continue to shape as well as to shake up contemporary Europe. New forms of socio-spatial inclusion and exclusion have been both embraced and contested – and always (re)negotiated – as part of ongoing processes of social change, connected to migration and displacement, post-socialism and decolonisation, populism and polarisation.

17 05 23

European Press Freedom under Pressure

Press freedom is increasingly coming under pressure across Europe. Reporters Without Borders have repeatedly measured a decline in press freedom in many European countries over the last few years, including the Netherlands. Where does this come from? And what are the various problems associated with and arising from declining press freedom?