{"id":51801,"date":"2026-09-21T09:14:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T13:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/?p=51801"},"modified":"2026-09-21T14:57:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T18:57:49","slug":"breaking-the-feedback-loop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/2026\/09\/21\/breaking-the-feedback-loop\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking the Feedback Loop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Online Symposium: October 27 & 28, 2026<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the 21st century, the environmental crisis of climate change and the political crisis of democratic decline have been pulled into a single feedback loop, in which each makes the other more severe.<\/p>\n

As climate disruption heightens economic insecurity and fuels mass-migrations, the resulting spike in xenophobia within developed countries hastens the rise of ultranationalist leaders and policies that weaken democracy and thwart effective international cooperation to address the climate crisis.<\/p>\n

The resulting rejection of democracy and cooperative climate action increases the likelihood of more severe climate degradation in this century with greater mass migrations and a more complete breakdown of democratic norms and multilateral cooperation.<\/p>\n

The goal of this two-day online symposium is to understand these overlapping environmental and political crises and explore effective ways to break the cyclical relationship between climate degradation, ultranationalism, and democratic decline.<\/p>\n

This symposium is sponsored by the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning.<\/p>\n

Event registration information will be posted soon. View the schedule of speakers below.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Schedule of Events<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tuesday, October 27, 2026<\/span><\/h4>\n

Opening Keynote<\/span>
\n9\u20139:45 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel J. Fiorino<\/a>
\nDoes Regime Type Matter for Climate Policies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Morning Panel<\/span>
\n10\u201311:30 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu All Over Again: The Circular Politics of the Climate Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Abel<\/a>
\nTelling Climate Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malka Older<\/a>
\nIf there is no famine in democracies, why is there climate change?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sheila Jasanoff<\/a>
\nWhy Political Theory Fails Climate Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afternoon Panel<\/span>
\n1\u20132:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to Break the Loop? Energy, Education, and Human Rights<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rick Reibstein<\/a>
\nThe Prize: Extrication from the Extractive Mode<\/strong><\/p>\n

Juliane Mora<\/a>
\nGlobal Studies: Interdisciplinary Team Teaching to Combat Climate Injustice and Democratic Decline<\/strong><\/p>\n

Erika Andiola<\/a>
\nProtecting Human Rights in an Age of Anti-Immigrant Violence, Unlawful Abductions & Mass Incarceration<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Wednesday, October 28, 2026<\/span><\/h4>\n

Morning Plenary Address<\/span>
\n9\u20139:45 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rachael Boyce<\/a>
\nFighting for Democracy Through Polluter Accountability: How\u00a0Climate Superfunds Fuel\u00a0People-Centered Resistance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Morning Panel<\/span>
\n10\u201311:30 a.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Power Hungry: AI, Authoritarianism, and Digital Disinformation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quinn Slobodian<\/a>
\nElon Musk Attempts to Automate the Far Right<\/strong><\/p>\n

Judith Shapiro<\/a>
\nChina’s Contribution: Ecological Civilization as Environmental Authoritarianism<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joan Donovan<\/a>
\nRefusing Data Centers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afternoon Panel<\/span>
\n1\u20132:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Global Strategies for Human Rights & Democracy in the Anthropocene<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brian Gorlick<\/a>
\n\u2018Waiting for a miracle’: How to enhance\u00a0delivery, advocacy, and solidarity on human rights and forced displacement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Augusto Lopez-Claros<\/a>
\nHuman Rights and the Transition from “Heart-Warming Sentiments” to Lived Realities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jamila Raqib<\/a>
\nCivil Resistance as Democratic Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n

Closing Keynote<\/span>
\n3\u20133:45 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luis Cabrera<\/a>
\nIn This Dark Time, Will the Eye Begin to See? Climate Change, Democratic Recession, and the Prospects for Renewing Global Citizenship<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, \u201cRainbow, Storm Light on Dunes,\u201d via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Cropped from original.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Online Symposium: October 27 & 28, 2026 In the 21st century, the environmental crisis of climate change and the political crisis of democratic decline have been pulled into a single feedback loop, in which each makes the other more severe. As climate disruption heightens economic insecurity and fuels mass-migrations, the resulting spike in xenophobia within […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25247,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[334],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51801"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25247"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51801"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51819,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51801\/revisions\/51819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}