Professor and political scientist Selen Ercan, from the University of Canberra, Australia, will be at UFMG in September as a guest of the FUNDEP/IEAT Chair program. During her visit, the researcher will be supported by Professor Ricardo Fabrino, from the Department of Political Science, who is responsible for coordinating the chair’s activities.

During her stay at UFMG, Selen Ercan will deliver the Grand Lecture “Why the Public Sphere Matters for Democratic Resilience” on September 16, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., in Auditorium 1 of the UFMG School of Economic Sciences (Face). Open to the public, the lecture will include a certificate of participation. Registration is required through the Even3 platform and attendance is required on the day of the event.

In a summary submitted to the organization, Selen Ercan emphasizes that, as a starting point for her presentation, she will seek to answer the following question: “How do democracies withstand moments of crisis and even grow stronger from them?” She will discuss the need to rethink the concept of democratic resilience from the lens of deliberative democracy, an approach that understands that democracy is stronger when citizens dialogue, listen, and reflect together in an open and inclusive public sphere. “Democratic resilience, from this perspective, is not limited to solid institutions, but also to the protection of the central deliberative qualities of the public sphere: inclusion, openness, and critical reflection,” explains Selen Ercan.

Drawing on the results of a project funded by the Australian Research Council, which compares how different democracies respond to extremist attacks, in her presentation she aims to expose the discursive foundations of democratic resilience, with broader implications for addressing polarization and other urgent democratic challenges.

On September 26th, Selen Ercan will deliver the seminar “Can Memory Activism Strengthen Democratic Resilience?” “Doing Democracy” After Extremist Attacks, at 2 p.m. in room 2094 at Fafich. The event is sponsored by the UFMG Political Science graduate program and registration is free.

About the guest

Selen A. Ercan is a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. Her research explores how deliberative participation can help address the crisis of democracy and strengthen democratic resilience. She is the author of three books and over fifty academic articles and book chapters on the theory and practice of deliberative democracy, examining its application in a wide variety of contexts, from structured forums to the broader public sphere.