This weekly digest is a collection of news, upcoming events and other opportunities from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University and the wider area, compiled for Graduate School students.
In this week’s digest:
- Debate in Lund: Is globalization dead – and if so, should we mourn it? (in Swedish)
- Seminar: The Language of Climate Politics
- Seminar: Reading Hannah Arendt: On Evil – from Totalitarianism to Banality
- Conference: Global South–Global North Developments The Asymmetries of Polycrisis, Risks, and Resilience
- Workshop: Join the creation!
- Student Support: Writing and study sessions with the Academic Support Centre
- PhD defence in Political Science: Evan Drake
- Explore international opportunities at LU
Debate in Lund: Is globalization dead – and if so, should we mourn it? (in Swedish)
Other
After the Cold War, borders opened up and globalization was seen as inevitable. Goods, capital, and people flowed more freely – and democracy and human rights would automatically follow in the wake of global openness.
Now the foundations are shaking. Trump’s tariffs, wars, climate crisis and pandemics have exposed the vulnerability of global chains. And in many parts of the world, democracy is not an ideal. Is globalization about to be rolled back? Or is it just being reshaped – towards a more multipolar world, with several different centers of power?
Welcome to a Debate in Lund where we discuss whether globalization is in retreat and what that means for prosperity, conflicts and climate.
In the panel:
- Fredrik Erixon, economist and author, head of the think tank ECIPE , former chief economist at Timbro.
- Ellen Hillbom, economic historian and Africa researcher at Lund University
- Tabita Rosendal, China expert at Lund University. Expert on China’s new Silk Road and the country’s global ambitions.
- Stefan de Vylder, economist who recently published the report ” From the Ashes to the Fire? On the Rise and Crisis of Hyperglobalization”
The event is free and starts at 7:00 PM. Doors open at 6:30 PM.
Arrive on time, first come, first served.
Date and time: 13 October 2025, 19:00 – 20:15
Location: Grand Hotel, Great Hall, Bantorget 1, Lund
For more information, visit this page
The Language of Climate Politics
Seminar
Speaker: Genevieve Guenther
Fossil fascism is rising in the United States. To build a permission structure for its actions, the Trump regime is suppressing science, taking control of the news media, and silencing communities harmed by extreme weather. Yet at the same time, it does not exactly deny that climate change is real. Rather, while spreading falsehoods about clean energy, the regime advances a more nuanced propaganda that goes something like this: “Yes, climate change is real, but calling it an existential threat is alarmist. And, anyway, phasing out coal, oil, and gas would cost us too much. Human flourishing relies on the economic growth enabled by fossil fuels, which enable innovation and increase our resilience.”
This story has power because it articulates the ideological matrix of fossil capitalism — the overlapping consensus shared by both the fascist right and the liberal centre — that we can keep using coal, oil, and methane and still deal with climate change anyway. Yet climate propaganda is also powerful because it is skillfully manufactured by fossil-fuel interests. These interests appropriate discourse from science, economics, and even activism, exploiting the literary qualities of language such as ambiguity or implicature, so as to normalise disinformation. My talk will ultimately explore the ways this appropriation works and offer strategies to combat it.
Genevieve Guenther is the founding director of End Climate Silence and the author of the acclaimed The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It. While writing for both scholarly and popular audiences, Dr Guenther advises NGOs, researchers, and policymakers on climate communication and disinformation, and she serves as an expert reviewer for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She lives in New York City with her family.
Date and time: 13 October 2025 13:00 – 14:30
Location: Ostrom, 3rd floor, Josephson building, Biskopsgatan 5, Lund
For more information, visit this page
30th Anniversary: Seminar, Reading Hannah Arendt: On Evil – from Totalitarianism to Banality
Seminar
Since Malmö Art Academy’s founding in 1995, it has challenged traditional teaching methods by placing the studio and the open work process at the center, characterized by feminist pedagogy and student self-determination through close reading. The teaching method, in which students read complex texts in groups with their peers and professors, has had a significant pedagogical effect, creating a direct connection between theory and practice within the group.
Hannah Arendt struggled with the problem of evil throughout her life. As a Jew, what she called totalitarianism affected her personally, but her thinking is universal. Totalitarian states are the ultimate evil because in them, human beings themselves become unnecessary. This form of evil goes beyond human laws, indeed beyond the human. That was her thinking in the late 1940s. But this would be to demonize evil, when the only possibility, for Arendt, is to laugh at it in all its pitiableness.
The seminar is led by Gertrud Sandqvist, Professor of Art Theory and the History of Ideas , and is part of celebrating Malmö Art Academy 30 years.
Date and time: 7 October 2025, 13:00 – 15:00
Location: Red Room, Inter Arts Center, Bergsgstan 29 (4th floor), Malmö
For more information, visit this page
Symposium Programme: Global South–Global North Developments The Asymmetries of Polycrisis, Risks, and Resilience
Conference
Organized by the Crisis Inequalities and Social Resilience (CISR) group, the International Development Group, and the Society for Critical Studies of Crisis (SCSC), this two-day event brings together scholars, practitioners, and activists to explore crises, resilience, and development from multiple perspectives.
Keynote addresses will be delivered by Vandana Desai (Royal Holloway, University of London), discussing Shared Forms of Breakdown: Global South Perspectives on Development and Polycrisis, and Jeremy Allouche (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex), presenting on Development in Polycrisis Times. These sessions will offer critical insights into the challenges and strategies of development amid complex global crises.
Participants can join all sessions via Zoom.
Date and time: 7-8 October 2025
Location: Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies, Lund University
For more information, visit this page
Workshop: Join the creation!
Workshop
In the temporary art project Schoolwork, artist Loulou Cherinet – together with the Faculty of Social Sciences at Lund University, Public Art Agency Sweden, and Akademiska Hus – invites students and university staff to improvise and create together.
With wowen willow, clay, hemp, and cow dung, participants will explore how knowledge can be shaped and shared physically, relationally and through the body as a tool. The Project is part of the development of Campus Paradis and an initiativ for campus art.
Join on October 6–8! No registration required. Lunch included.
Do you have questions about how you can participate? Contact the artist:
skolarbete@cherinet.com
Date and time: October 6 09:00 – October 8 16:00 2025
Location: Campus Paradis
For more information, visit this page
Writing and study sessions with the Academic Support Centre
Student Support
The Academic Support Centre arranges writing and study sessions for the University’s students each semester. You can read more about how a session works, planned dates and how to register below.
The study and writing sessions take place each Tuesday for the autumn semester. Full-day sessions are 9–16, with a lunch break from 12–13. You are welcome to attend our sessions regardless of whether you study in Swedish or English.
You should bring any relevant, study-related material along to the writing and study session. You might, for instance, bring a written assignment or thesis draft that you are currently working on (or should be working on) or texts to read in preparation for your next lecture or exam. Our language and study consultants are also available to offer their advice on how to plan your study time and put that plan into practice. After a brief introduction, you have time to work towards reaching your individual goal.
You can apply to attend our writing and study sessions by emailing us at study@stu.lu.se.
Date and time: Tuesdays, 09:00 – 16:00
Location: Genetikhuset, rooms 219–222, Sölvegatan 29B, Lund
For more information, visit this page
PhD defence in Political Science: Evan Drake ‘From Lock-In to Phase-Out: Pathways Towards Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform‘
Thesis Defence
Abstract:
This dissertation investigates the political determinants of fossil fuel subsidy reform in OECD countries between 2009 and 2023. Despite widespread recognition of their economic inefficiency and environmental harm, fossil fuel subsidies remain entrenched, with OECD countries collectively sustaining around USD 100 billion in annual support. The research addresses why some governments successfully reduce these subsidies whilst others do not. It conceptualises these subsidies as critical mechanisms of “carbon lock-in” that entrench fossil fuel dependence and impede climate action. Drawing on multiple strands of political science literature, the dissertation develops an integrated analytical framework that considers the roles of institutional configurations, governing party preferences, policy processes, and affective polarisation in shaping reform trajectories. Using a mixed-methods approach and four
complementary articles covering 34 OECD countries, the research identifies both structural and strategic pathways to reform.
Key findings show that proportional representation and corporatist institutions are associated with lower subsidy levels, by offering electoral insulation and facilitating compensatory strategies. Governments led by environmentally committed parties tend to reduce subsidies, whereas market-liberal parties increase them—particularly when they hold parliamentary majorities. The study also introduces the concept of “dismantling by layering”, where incremental policies such as carbon taxes erode subsidies indirectly, minimising direct political confrontation. Finally, the dissertation develops a research agenda and theoretical framework proposing how affective polarisation may constrain reform by transforming climate policies into partisan identity markers. Together, the findings suggest that the climate governance challenge is not primarily about identifying technically optimal policy instruments but about understanding the political conditions under which necessary policies become feasible—an analytical shift with profound implications for both academic research and policy practice in addressing the climate crisis.
Date and time: October 10 2025, 10:15
Location: Eden auditorium, Allhelgona kyrkogata 14, Lund
For more information, visit this page
Explore international opportunities offered through Lund University
Webinars
International Opportunities Week is a webinar series showcasing the wide range of international opportunities available to students at Lund University. Throughout the week, you’ll gain inspiration and practical advice on how to pursue international experiences during your studies.
Be inspired by fellow students sharing their international journeys and get practical tips from staff on how to get started. Sign up for the webinars that interest you:
- Explore the world – without travelling
- Collect data for your thesis abroad with a travel grant
- Intern abroad – give your CV a unique edge
- Short-term exchanges – a quick way to gain international experience
Date and time: 13, 14, 15 & 16 October | 17:00–17:45
Location: Online
For more information, visit this page