Security has become a battleground over the future of democracy. Calls for more security dominate public debate, and far-right actors promise protection through hardened borders, more policing, and exclusion. But the security of the nation-state was never meant for everyone - it has always protected some by excluding others. So what do we do when the state will not protect us, can no longer protect us, or has become a threat itself? Around the world, people are already organizing their own protection: mutual aid and collective self-defence against immigration raids in the United States, communities and volunteers organising protection under conditions of war in Ukraine, decades of self-administration beyond the state in Kurdistan, and movements preparing for ecological collapse. What they share is a refusal to rely only on the state. Bringing together researchers and practitioners, the panel asks what protection can look like when it no longer depends on the state - and what we would gain from thinking about security differently. A discussion with everyone present will follow.
Panelists
- Christine Hentschel, Professor of Sociology: Security and Resilience, University of Hamburg
- Hazal Hürman, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Hamburg
- Valeria Lazarenko, Postdoctoral researcher, University of hamburg
- Elaine Thomas, Co-founder and Lead of Afrotopia Black Academy in Hamburg
Moderation: Nina Perkowski, Assistant Professor in Sociology, Violence and Security, University of Hamburg
The event will be held in English. /Die Veranstaltungssprache ist Englisch.
Organizer: University of Hamburg
This event is part of Hamburger Horizonte 2026 “Zur Sicherheit”. Further information about this year’s program can be found at https://hamburger-horizonte.de/.
Starts/Ends: The event will run from 19:00 to 20:30, followed by a brief get-together until 21:00.
Copyright keyvisual and image: BRENNWERT Kommunikation mit Zündung GmbH, Kelvin Taylor / unsplash.com.