Are we living in an age of Authoritarianism? The rise of moderate and extreme forms of authoritarianism has become an increasingly pressing issue in both public discussion and academic debate. If the more traditional definition of this term refers to State or eĢlite domination\, today there are manifestations of this phenomenon expanding in the entire social life\, through various means\, among which public discourse\, social media\, private companies&rsquo\; influence over politics. The effects of this phenomenon are multifarious: people who arbitrarily claim authority or act as one\, leading to the degradation of democratic participation\, the weakening of check-and-balances\, the new fascinating image of strength and strong leaders\, a returning wave of moral authoritarianism and moralism.
\nIn 1951\, Hannah Arendt questioned the origins of totalitarianism in her well-known text on the political theory of XX Century regimes\; today\, a similar operation is needed to understand what the historical and ideological causes of this turn of events were\, in order to defuse a regressive degeneration of social life.
\nThis political-historical issue calls for a new understanding of the concept of authority in general. What is an Authority\, and what is an epistemic or moral authority? What creates the conditions by which the concept of authority itself degrades into authoritarianism?
\nThe ECSE Conference aims to deepen the ambivalence of moral and political authority and the origins of present-day forms of authoritarianism.
ORGANIZER;CN=Alessandro Volpe;CN=Roberto Mordacci;CN=Maria Russo: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR