SE Governing through Conflict and Crisis

Barış Ülker

Modul 1: Urban Governance and Public Sector

Fr 12-14 Uhr • HBS 103 • Beginn: 18.10.2019

Concepts of crisis and conflict are mostly connected to events that bring in an uncertainty, instability or a threat to the conditions of life. Crisis and conflict, in everyday life conversations, can be used in relation to psychological, political, legal, economic, cultural, environmental, and medical spheres. The moments of crisis and conflict, both of which cannot always be predicted in terms of duration, have the potential to change the power relationships in the whole world. Being related to time, uncertainty and future trajectories, these concepts (including both meanings of danger and opportunity) provide infinite possibilities to redefine “normal” course of events, power mechanisms, and everyone’s position until the next decision for change.

This course provides a detailed understanding of conflicts and crises in different cities. It is arranged thematically, rather than temporally. The course will aim to build up an interactive discussion that can be promoted with questions (including but not limited to): How and when do conflicts emerge? Do we all go through a kind of a crisis? How do we define the crisis? What are the worst types of conflicts? Who is responsible for the emergence and development of the crises? Can someone profit from any kind of crisis? Do the vulnerable groups of the society suffer most from the crises? How long does a crisis last? Do crises repeat themselves in time? Can the conflics become permanent? Is it possible to foresee the crises? What do we learn from the conflicts? Is it possible to live without a crisis? Or, are crises necessary for the restructuring of power relationships in the society and the world?

Literature:
Agamben, Giorgio (1998). Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Agamben, Giorgio (2005). State of Exception. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bauman, Zygmunt and Bordoni, Carlo (2014). State of Crisis. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Koselleck, Reinhart (1959). Critique and Crisis: Enlightenment and the Pathogenesis of Modern Society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.