Languages: German and English / simultaneous translation
No other term has figured more prominently than “democracy” in self-descriptions of western societies after the end of WW2. Yet the reality is: powerful corporations act like states, wars – particularly in the global south – are fought in the name of freedom, and our digital activities are tapped and recorded almost entirely.
Transparency and exposure of secret data flows are the guiding principles of the platform WikiLeaks and the whistleblowers who have been feeding in data since 2006. It is an experiment in taking the promise of democracy seriously under advanced technological conditions, a way of trying to redeem the emancipatory utopias surrounding the Internet since its very beginning.
The whistle-blowing website is still online and active. Its spokesperson/founder is Julian Assange, hailed as a hero and cypherpunk genius by many, and denounced as high-tech terrorist, exposed to public death threats, and persecuted by governments and intelligence services for “damages” they allege to have suffered through WikiLeaks.
With an arrest warrant issued by Sweden for allegations of sexual assault, Assange has been stuck at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since June 2012. On 9 December 2015 he will take part in a debate with theatre director Angela Richter and Croatian philosopher Srećko Horvat at the Volksbühne via live stream from the embassy discussing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and its foreseeable consequences, as well as the geopolitical implications of the huge influx of refugees into Europe. Another topic will be how reflecting on democracy’s criminal history can help to open an alternative view on Europe.
It is the third event in our “Europe” series at the Volksbühne, following previous panels and discussions with Yanis Varoufakis and Slavoj Žižek.
Tickets: 12.- €, concessions 8.- €
Das Ende der Demokratie. Julian Assange (per Video) im Gespräch mit Angela Richter und Srećko Horvat (OV) from Volksbühne Berlin on Vimeo.
Das Ende der Demokratie.Julian Assange (per Video) im Gespräch mit Angela Richter und Srećko Horvat mit deutscher Übersetzung from Volksbühne Berlin on Vimeo.
