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.

With our governments still confined to the borders of nation states, defending the short-term interests of present-day voters, the consequences for future generations are dire. In The Lost Future, Zielonka makes a bold case for a new politics of time and space. He considers how democracy should adjust to the world of frantic change, and he questions our everyday experiences as citizens: is it acceptable for authorities and firms to monitor our whereabouts? Why is the distribution of time and space so unequal? And, most crucially, can we construct a new system of governance that will allow us to plan ahead with certainty.

About the speakers

Jan Zielonka is Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Venice, Cá Foscari, and at the University of Oxford. His previous appointments included posts at the University of Leiden, and the European University Institute in Florence. Zielonka has produced eighteen books including Counter-Revolution. Liberal Europe in Retreat (Oxford University Press, 2018), awarded the 2019 UACES prize for the best book on Europe and translated into several languages. Zielonka regularly contributes articles to Die Zeit, New Statesman, Social Europe, Rzeczpospolita, NRC Handelsblad, Domani, and Diario de Noticias.

Caroline de Gruyter (discussant) is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. Currently based in Brussels, she is also a columnist for Foreign Policy and EUobserver, and a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations. De Gruyter has covered European politics for over twenty years, both from the ‘bubble’ in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe. She was previously based in the Gaza strip, Jerusalem, Brussels, Geneva, Vienna and Oslo. Her latest book, published in March 2021, is a best-selling comparison between the Habsburg Empire and the European Union. It has been translated into German, Swedish, French and Hungarian.

Luiza Bialasiewicz (moderator) is Professor of European Governance and the Academic Director of ACES.