Workshop – Ruling the Assembly. Procedural Fairness, Popular Emotion, and the Access to Democracy, 19th-20th century

21 October 2022, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Organisation: Anne Heyer (Leiden University), Anne Petterson (Radboud University), Henk te Velde (Leiden University)

In this workshop, we explore how politicians and citizens in the 19th and 20th century tried to resolve the tension between reasonableness and accessibility of political debate, both in and outside Western European parliaments. Political practices are central to this analysis. What did political newcomers have to do in order to be listened to? What meaning did parliamentary rules have for citizens participating in public political discussions? And above all, how did they develop norms and practices for the conduct of democratic politics? To answer these questions, we encourage a political-cultural approach in which the rules of political debate are not self-evident, but rather the subject of an ongoing political struggle about the democratisation of the political system.

Programme

9.30-10.00: Registration

10.00-10.30:Introduction: Two Traditions of Deliberation? Henk te Velde, Leiden University

10.30-11.15: Keynote | Public Politics and Public Spheres in the Making of Democracy, Jon Lawrence, University of Exeter

11.15-11.30: Coffee break

11.30-12.15: The Art of Making Oneself Heard: Political Audibility in and beyond Europe’s Second Chambers in the Late Nineteenth Century, Josephine Hoegaerts, University of Helsinki. Discussant: Maartje Janse, Leiden University

12.15-13.30: Lunch

13.30-14.15: In All Seriousness: Laughter in Bismarck’s Reichstag, Theo Jung, Freiburg University. Discussant: Ido de Haan, Utrecht University

14.15-15.00: Gatherings of Laughter: Public Meetings in the Early Stages of Democratization, Belgium, 1872-1893

Martin Schoups, Ghent University. Discussant: Adriejan van Veen, Radboud University

15:00-15.30: Coffee break

15.30-16.15:  Ruling the Rally in the Name of Democracy: Political Parties and ‘Popular’ Voices in West Germany’s Electoral Communication, 1940s to 1960s, Claudia Gatzka, Freiburg University. Discussant: Carla Hoetink, Radboud University

16.15-16.45: Learning from the Outside: Parliament’s Response to Popular Meetings in Germany and The Netherlands, 1870-1914, Anne Heyer, Leiden University & Anne Petterson, Radboud University

16.45-17.00: Conclusion

17.00-18.00: Drinks

Registration

Attendance is free. Please register via this form: https://forms.gle/XUZn2NK4PoPk1WFD9

Limited places available – your registration will be confirmed.

Location

KNAW, Het Trippenhuis, Kloveniersburgwal 29, 1011 JV Amsterdam

This workshop is part of the research project “Redelijkheid omstreden. Debatregels en de toegang tot de democratie, 1870-1940” (Rationality in Debate. Rules of Discussion and the Access to Democracy, 1870-1940), funded by the Fonds Staatsman Thorbecke of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).