The Alfred Landecker Programme's seminar series on religion, populism and democracy is pleased to welcome Professor Beatrice de Graaf (Utrecht, the Netherlands) to present her work on terrorism, securitisation and the protection of minorities.

Throughout Europe, minorities have historically been treated as security risks and been subjected to international, inter-imperial attempts to identify, classify and pacify them. Based on unique source material from the Congress of Vienna (1815–1818), Beatrice will discuss how the rise of a European security culture determined the future of minorities in the nation state. Seeking to curb the post-Revolutionary threat of terror, this security culture encouraged the stifling of dissent and increased the pressure on political, cultural and religious minorities to assimilate into newly forming nations. Beatrice argues that this securitisation of minorities has profoundly shaped legal structures and echoes into contemporary approaches to minorities and counterterrorism. Federica d’Alessandra (Blavatnik School of Government) will respond based on her work on international peace and security.

Please note: This seminar is held as a meeting via Zoom. For more information and to make a request to participate, please email marietta.vandertol@bsg.ox.ac.uk.

About the speaker

Beatrice de Graaf is Professor of History of International Relations and Global Governance at Utrecht University. She leads the ERC Consolidator Grant 'Securing Europe' and is a fellow with the 'ISIS Files Project' of the Program on Extremism with The George Washington University. She recently published the book Fighting Terror after Napoleon (CUP) and Radicale Verlossing (Radical Redemption) in which she documents a series of interviews with imprisoned jihadist and far-right terrorists.

Alfred Landecker Seminar Series: Religion, populism and democracy

In anticipation of a series of workshops and conferences in collaboration with Cambridge, Utrecht, Yale, Göttingen and Helsinki (autumn 2021–winter 2023), this spring, the Alfred Landecker Programme presents a series of seminars on the theme of religion, populism and democracy. Save the date for future events in the series:

• 'Under the banner of Islam: religion, ethnicity and nationalism in Turkey' with Gülay Turkmen (Graz) and a response by Erdi Öztürk – Tuesday 22 June 17:30–19:00.