E-Seminar: American crisis and its implications

Description 

The events that occurred in the first years of the present decade have highlighted some real problematic issues that have put in serious question the good functioning of American democracy both in internal politics and in international relations. Among these critical events, we can identify the Covid spread, the protest against the police, the claim of serious deficiencies in the election system, the attack on the congress on the 6th of January 21 and the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan. In front of these and other events many people started to ask: what is happening to America? Some others have put in doubt the capability of the US to remain a superpower in world relations or/and to tackle her internal problems. Is American civilization at a turning point poised towards decadence or the difficulties recently experienced are just one of the many challenges that the country is going through that at the end will stimulate the American vitalism to resurge, as it often happened in the past? Does the American crisis reflect and anticipate a wider decadence of the Western democracies? In which stage of civilization as described by the historian philosopher Arnold Toynbee, is America presently standing? Are we  simply witnessing a momentary upturn of the American society or rather are in front of a paradigm shift, as theorized by physicist and philosopher Thomas  Kuhn? The aim of this seminar is to debate on these problems and on the political and cultural implications that may arise soon for America and presumably for the rest of the world.  

Steps

1. Signals of American crisis
2. Causes and implication of the American crisis
3. America at a turning point
4. Possible outcomes and solutions