Prefiguring Democratic Futures (PREDEF) proceeds from the assumption that the much-discussed crisis of democracy is not simply a crisis of the political system. Rather, it has become difficult to even imagine democratic alternatives as well as possibilities to expand and radicalize democracy in the future. Democratic imagination is rejected under the neoliberal hegemony of the ‘TINA-principle’ and the rise of neo-authoritarianism. The demise of democratic imagination is accompanied by a loss of belief in a more open, equal, and democratic future.

If this assessment holds, then it does not suffice to defend existing democratic achievements. Addressing the crisis of democracy requires broadening the horizon of democratic possibilities by exploring potentials for deepening and pluralizing democracy. To contribute to this goal, PREDEF goes beyond the sphere of politics narrowly defined as the body of existing political institutions (i.e., the minimal institutional framework of Western liberal democracy) and conventional channels for political participation. The project turns to the fields of culture, art, and the history of ideas, as these fields hold hitherto untapped potentials for expanding our democratic imagination and disclosing emancipatory alternatives.

The main objectives are:

• contributing to regaining a ‘sense of possibility’ in a time of vanishing democratic alternatives and a lost belief in democratic futurity;
• exploring the democratizing potential of cultural and artistic practices and institutions;
• learning from neglected configurations of the past as well as envisaging alternative democratic futures, specifically regarding institutional designs;
• connecting theoretical and empirical research with the aim of genuine cross-fertilization in a project that appreciates both forms of research equally.

Scientific Approach & Structure

PREDEF meets this challenge empirically and theoretically: empirically, artistic and cultural counter-practices are investigated that challenge democratic deficits and champion democratization in the spheres of time-based arts, law, and international relations. Theoretically, the project contributes to a widening of the democratic imaginary by building an archive of past and forgotten institutions as well as by elaborating a democratic theory of imagination. Thus, we will turn to the past to enrich the sense of institutional creativity, and we will turn to contemporary cultural-political practices that prefigure democratic forms of living-together.

PREDEF encompasses three subprojects in the fields of cultural research, the history of ideas, and democratic theory. They are designed to cross-fertilize each other, thus offering a comprehensive perspective on how to enliven democratic imagination.