Science & Cocktails: Rivaling World Powers and Democracy

Science & Cocktails is a series of public talks by scientists with live music and smoky dry-ice chilled cocktails in your hand.

19:00 doors open for cocktails

19:30 Frank Arnold (live)

20:30 Haroon Sheikh (talk)

Event in English, semi-seated.

Be the first to know when the next Science & Cocktails Amsterdam event(s) will take place by subscribing to our newsletter.

Science & Cocktails: Power and Countervailing Power in the 21st Century

We are entering a new era: one defined by bold displays of power and influence on a global scale. But what is the nature of this shift? How is this new form of power projection shaping our daily lives, our democracies, and the future of Europe? Most importantly, how can we begin to regulate these forces, and develop new ways to balance their impact?

We live in an age of unbounded power projection with a display of power and influence. This is caused by a growing rivalry between great powers and the new foreign policy of the U.S. Moreover, power is projected through new means. Think of information warfare, the use of access to resources, the disturbance of supply chains, the weaponization of technologies like chips, AI, Quantum Technology and even the use of people as weapons (as migrants or by mobilizing criminal networks and diasporas). In this talk, Haroon Sheikh, senior researcher at the Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) and professor of philosophy at VU University, will explore how these new forms of power are changing global politics, putting pressure on democracy, and why we need fresh ideas to restore balance.