I teach/taught the following courses at University of Amsterdam:
What’s Left? The idea of social democracy from Bernstein to Bernie
What is the driving idea behind social democracy? Can capitalism be reconciled with social justice? What is the contemporary relevance of social democracy today? This course investigates the idea of social democracy as both a political-economic philosophy and a concrete historical project. We will look at the 20th century origins of social democracy, and how has it evolved over time. Through readings of foundational thinkers, as well as examinations of key moments in 20th- century European and global politics, students will explore how social democracy has helped shape our times, and consider its future potential.
Crisis politics and the return of the state in Europe
During the Covid pandemic, states stepped in to prop up the economy, often with notable success. Ever since, there has been talk of ‘the return of the state’. Recent developments such as the energy crisis, climate change, the rise of China and the economic nationalism of Trump, have led to a revival of state intervention, economic planning and industrial policy. It forms a marked contrast to the neoliberal turn of the 1980s, when the state was increasingly seen as inefficient and burdensome, even as a threat to individual freedom. In this course, we will first explore the neoliberal turn of the 1980s and 1990s. Using the literature on paradigm shifts and institutional analysis, we will look at how such a change in thinking throughout government and society actually happens. We will then explore whether we are presently seeing a paradigm shift in the opposite direction and look at the forces driving and/or obstructing this shift. In Europe, we are still in the midst of controversy over the role of the state. On the one hand, there is a renewed belief in state intervention, on the other we see a return to deregulation and strict European budget rules, which enforce a more confined role of the state.
Red-pilled: The political ideas of the far-right
We are living in a time of far-right resurgence. Ideas that used to eke out a precarious existence on the fringes of society are now boldly flooding the mainstream. This course examines the far-right as a political idea, intellectual tradition, and set of movements across different historical and geographic contexts. Students will analyse how these ideas emerge, evolve, and circulate through political theory, party systems, social movements, and media ecosystems.
Through case studies, primary texts, and interdisciplinary scholarship, the course investigates the diversity within far-right ideologies ranging from fascism to neo-masculinity, from post-liberals to tech-monarchists and Silicon Valley reactionaries, from anti-feminists to the alt-right and Christian nationalists. Emphasis is placed on understanding the internal logic of far-right ideas, their appeal to different constituencies, the conditions that have allowed them to rise and the mechanisms through which they influence political discourse and institutions.
MO 