Plenary Roundtable: What are we defending when we critique illiberalism? Rethinking gender and liberal democratic ideals

Abstract

Speakers: Michal Grahn, Uppsala University Elisabeth Olivius, Umeå University Weronika Grzebalska, Polish Academy of Sciences Alejandra López Villegas, Lake Forest College Abstract: This keynote roundtable invites critical feminist responses to the rise of illiberalism amid multiple crises – social, economic, political - all with profoundly intersectional gendered effects. The erosion of hard-won rights and equalities often incites us to defend liberal democracy, despite extensive feminist critiques of its limitations and internal contradictions. The key question is, when we critique the illiberal wave, what are we defending and advocating for?