Uncivil Society: Europe’s New Normal?

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Mar 22, 2019
by Louise Hallman
Uncivil Society: Europe’s New Normal?

Provost of beleaguered Central European University, Liviu Matei leads defiant evening discussion on the importance of academic freedom and the future of Europe

Liviu Matei speaks at the Salzburg Global event Uncivil Society: Europe’s New Normal? alongside moderator Christoph Prantner

With just 1500 students, who should care that a small private university in Budapest has been forced to relocate? Liviu Matei posed this question to his audience as he spoke at the Salzburg Global Seminar evening event Uncivil Society: Europe’s New Normal? on March 21.

The answer, of course, is anyone who cares about a liberal, “civil” Europe, where freedom of speech, freedom of academia and the rule of law are all upheld, should care about the fate of the Central European University (CEU).

Across Europe, a new “uncivil society” is forming, warned event moderator, Christoph Prantner, senior editor for Austrian daily Der Standard. This “uncivil society” is defined by what it stands against, not for; it is anti-immigrant, anti-liberalism, anti-rationalism, anti-elitism, anti-experts, anti-EU, unwilling to compromise. This uncivility can be seen in crises across Europe, including in the Brexit referendum in the UK, the gilets jaunes protests in France, the disrespect of the judiciary in Poland, the imprisonment of academics and journalists in Turkey, and the rise of populism in Italy, Greece and Hungary.

Founded by Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist George Soros in 1991 as a university dedicated to examining the contemporary challenges of “open societies” and democratization, the CEU is just one of many institutions that have suffered under the right-wing populist government of Viktor Orbán.

Once identified as a liberal and hailed as a force for good in his country, prime minister Orbán has since changed the constitution, reconfigured the constitutional court, strangled the free press, cracked down on non-governmental organizations, stifled political opposition and stoked anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic sentiment in his country and beyond. Seeing himself as not only the leader of Hungary but a leader of Europe and a defender of Christianity against the wave of Muslim refugees and immigrants, Orbán has turned eastwards, away from the traditional western power center of the European Union, courting Russia and garnering support from other EU countries, such as Poland, in the process.

Provost of the CEU, Matei is a Salzburg Global Fellow, having engaged in Salzburg Global’s Universities Project, a multi-year program in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the aim to promote the higher education reform processes primarily of universities in Central and Eastern Europe. Speaking at the evening event, hosted for Salzburg Global by the Erste Foundation at the Erste Group’s new campus in Vienna, Matei detailed the recent travails of what was one of Central Eastern Europe’s leading universities and spoke passionately about the important role higher education plays in democratic societies.

Faced with legal and financial uncertainty after the Orbán government refused to sign an agreement to allow it to continue to operate in the country, the CEU has now chosen to relocate to Austria – a move that was both loudly applauded in the room on the top floor of the Erste Campus and widely welcomed in Vienna. Matei highlighted especially the warm welcome his small, relatively young, private university had received from the large, historic, public University of Vienna. A special welcome reception is to be hosted by the university in a show of solidarity with the CEU. This international support has been crucial to the survival of the CEU, which Matei admits is “too small, too isolated to survive alone.”

Speaking in one of his characteristic analogies, like a young immigrant who leaves his country to seek a better future abroad, sending money home and promising to one day return, Matei admits it is unlikely the CEU will return to Budapest. “We knew that when we leave, there will be no way back.”

“Many of my colleagues believe we have a responsibility to Budapest,” he said and ideally, Matei would like to see the university “keep something there” in the country, but the continuing governmental hostility makes that highly uncertain.

Unlike Orbán, Matei does not see higher education as a luxury, but to be highly valued. While the percentage of a population attending university can be debated, Matei said that it should still be a priority to encourage university attendance, and that those universities should offer a wide range of subjects. Matei lamented the decline in the humanities in Hungary and how academic subjects such as gender studies have been decreed illegitimate, while political science is facing attempts to confine its study to one public (government-controlled) university. 

Higher education has a vital role to play in democratic, liberal societies and in countering “political depression.” Despite being accused of educating CEU students in a “global conspiracy,” Matei does not believe universities should be activists, fomenting unrest or leading protests, but instead they should “crystalize resistance” by encouraging free expression, academic curiosity and thoughtful debate. To counter the threat of illiberalism, universities should produce ever-more scholarship on populism and uncivil societies, researching and revealing its increasing, negative impact and educating the next generation in how to stem and recover from it.

Suppression of academics may not seem as severe as that of the judiciary or the press, but Matei argues that treatment of academics is indicative of growing illiberalism, pointing to the treatment of academics in Turkey, where thousands have been fired, refused permission to leave the country or even thrown in jail.

While clearly disheartened by the current situation, Matei is not without hope for the future. Born and educated in Romania under Nicolae Ceausescu, whose regime he thought would never end, he is able to imagine a more positive future for Hungary and Europe. 

“This will not last forever,” he stated defiantly.


This symposium was conducted under the auspices of Salzburg Global Seminar - Austria.