#rp26 speaker Matthias Quent: No power to powerlessness!

We are in crisis mode: faced with rising prices, wars, the climate crisis and the increasing shift to the right, many people feel desperate and powerless. They react with anger or withdraw. The impression of being unable to do anything has become a mass phenomenon. 

At re:publica 26, Matthias Quent will talk about how political powerlessness arises and why it is so problematic. Whether we fight, flee or freeze is crucial for the future of our democracy. Based on new data and compelling case studies, the author, sociologist and democracy researcher will explain fundamental connections and will demonstrate who copes well with crises and who copes less well. 

Last but not least, it is about how we take action to push back fascism and renew democracy – based on the title of his current book, ‘Keine Macht der Ohnmacht’ (No Power to Powerlessness), which echoes the #rp26 motto.

Matthias Quent is a professor of sociology and teaches at Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule in Jena. He founded and headed the Institut für Demokratie und Zivilgesellschaft (Institute for Democracy and Civil Society, IDZ) in Jena until 2022. Matthias Quent's research focuses on political culture, right-wing extremism and democracy, among other topics. His non-fiction book ‘Deutschland rechts außen’ (Germany on the Far Right) was on the Spiegel bestseller list.