Liberalism traces itself back to the promise of liberation from very particular kinds of dependence, oppression, and state intervention (although it has relied on other kinds). Illiberalism is today emerging as a more and more coherent set of ideologies that promise liberation from liberalism’s (or, rather, neoliberalism’s) global expansion (Laruelle 2022). But this coherence is tenuous and possibly unachievable. Is there more to illiberalism than the seemingly endless diversity of anti-liberal, nonliberal or aliberal ways of escaping regimentation by liberal economic, political and discursive forms? If so, how did illiberalism’s coherence develop historically, and what significance does it have in the context of contemporary geopolitical transformations?

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Searching online for the phrase “liberated by Zoom,” one finds countless pandemic-era commentaries, variously critical and uncritical of how meeting online might free participants of in-person gatherings’ temporal, spatial, economic, ecological, and health constraints and costs. Their opposing stances spotlight two disparities: in participants’ access to virtual and physical networking spaces; and in how comfortable, conducive, and safe the space from which one joins online is, vis-à-vis conditions at a potential physical meeting point. How have wars, disease, ecological imperatives, and affirmative action’s imperilment affected these disparities? In networking to support vulnerable and underrepresented populations in higher education, which prioritizations do our disciplines and institutions seemingly require, and what can we learn from others?

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Access to open market was a major driver of Russians’ strive to liberation after the collapse of the USSR. This round table discussion of Russian market reforms of the 1990’s will focus on developing an analytic framework to understand this period and its lasting impact on Russia. This panel involves scholars, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, who were directly involved in transforming Russian market in the 1990s.

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The panel is devoted to the evolution the Putin regime's ideology in comparison to the dynamic of other contemporary autocracies. In the midst of the Third wave of democratization many observers believed that the ideological contestation between the West and Communism was over, concluding in the former’s victory and a renewed global ideological confrontation was barely a possibility. Accordingly, the assumption was that weltanschauung ideologies as methods of autocratic legitimation would become irrelevant and cast off for the lack of an alternative to the Western model. These assumptions led to a popular conclusion that today’s autocracies fundamentally differ from their twentieth century predecessors in that they are not ideologically driven. However, recent trends in Putin’s Russia seem to defy those expectations.

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The panel examines government structures in the Soviet and post-Soviet Russian contexts, encompassing national legislatures, municipal bodies, and political decisions made at these levels. It delves into the interplay between empowering reforms, regressive policies, policy-making decisions, deputies' activities and reputation, and official mobilizing efforts. The aim is to illuminate the context and consequences of significant policy decisions often overlooked, due to shifts in political agendas, perceived significance, and deliberate attempts to conceal them.

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