KNAW event Do democracies need a revolution? The revolution of 1848 then, and now
Channel: De KNAW
Date: 2023-06-27

In Revolutionary Spring. Europe aflame and the fight for a new world, 1848-1849 Christopher Clark describes 1848 as ‘the particle collision chamber at the center of the European nineteenth century’, a moment when political movements and ideas were tested and transformed. The revolutions of 1848 were short-lived, but their impact on public life and political thought throughout Europe and beyond has been profound.

After the key note lecture by Christopher Clark, parallels to the current day and age are drawn in a discussion with invited experts and the audience. Do democracies need revolutions? Can freedom thrive without? And what about the situation of the Netherlands, where no revolution took place at all and that still went through a democratic transformation in 1848?

00:17 Welcome and introduction, Beatrice de Graaf, Professor of History of International Relations & Global Governance, Utrecht University 
04:33 Christopher Clark, Professor of History, University of Cambridge - Fighting for a new world: the 1848 revolutions in Europe  
43:50 Annelien de Dijn, Professor of Modern Political History, Utrecht University - Thoughts on 'do democracies need a revolution?' 
51:50 Panel discussion chaired by Beatrice de Graaf with Annelien de Dijn, Professor of Modern Political History, Utrecht University, and Glenda Sluga, Professor of International History and Capitalism, European University Institute in Florence and University of Sydney 
01:33:46 Q&A