Tuesday, 2/10/2026
at 7:30 PM


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Due to high demand, moved to the Humboldt Hall. Act quickly!

Our Basic Law is a strong foundation for freedom and the rule of law. It secures fundamental rights and has protective mechanisms against authoritarian structures. But is this alone a guarantee for the survival of democracy? What if the majority of the population were no longer willing to defend democratic fundamental values? Trust in institutions, parties, and the state is eroding, debates are becoming more radicalized, voter turnout is declining - disturbing signs of an escalating crisis of democracy. Ricarda Lang (Alliance 90/The Greens) and sociologist Steffen Mau are guests of constitutional lawyer Alexander Thiele. In their book “The Great Transformation” (Ullstein), they have analyzed the acute issues of our time - from social inequality to political polarization to the crisis of statehood. Issues that politics, notoriously under time pressure, tackles with superficial debates and a lack of programmatic substance. Can societal discourse be freed from the trap of affect politics and can people be won over for the active defense of the rule of law and cohesion? And are all precautions taken to protect the Basic Law and the Constitutional Court from authoritarian access?

Photo: Sarah Staiger

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