The four-day festival of the Research Center for the History of Transformations (RECET) revolved around concepts and discussions of “freedom”. High-level experts from the historical and social sciences, politics, civil society, and arts and culture explored the multifaceted and transformative nature of the term. Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine, the topic assumed a dramatic relevance, addressed in various panels, discussions, and lectures. The organizing institute of the festival, RECET, was founded in 2020 and focuses on post-1989 transformations in Central and Eastern Europe in a comparative and global perspective. Held in a marquee at the center of the campus of the University of Vienna, inviting for lively discussion, and offering a rich cultural program, the festival was also an experiment in science communication, public debate, and the freedom of access to science for everyone. Bringing together various formats, topics, and disciplines, the program never lost sight of its overarching question on “transformations of freedom”.

In his opening statement, RECET’s director PHILIPP THER (Vienna) argued that in the wake of 1989 freedom had a double-edged dimension still prevalent today – populists and autocrats use feelings and experiences of uncertainty and loss as political leverage. Drawing on that, CHRISTOPH MÖLLERS (Berlin) reflected on juridical and philosophical dimensions of freedom in his lecture "What Unfreedom can teach us about Freedom". He argued that freedom was and is not a fixed category or term, but rather is based on constant negotiation and recalibration. This initial thought stems from the observation that it is quite difficult to portray or pinpoint freedom, whereas a sense of un-freedom seems to be more vivid to depict. Accordingly, we inevitably only ever experience the former when we are confronted with the latter – in this understanding, un-freedom functions as a kind of “negative foil” against which we can conceptualize freedom and spur political discussion. However, to spark political impact, the embodied and hence highly personal experience of un-freedom needs to be mediated, communicated, and made plausible, Möllers argued. It is with this mediation that politics begins. Communicating and mobilizing experiences of un-freedom is a social skill that needs to be learned and trained, Möllers concluded.

In the second lecture of the evening, IRINA SCHERBAKOWA (Memorial) took the reflections on the concept of freedom from theory to practice, discussing the profound political, social, and medial developments of Russia's "long war" against Ukraine under the title "The Great Exodus: On (Un)Freedom in Putin's Russia". She reflected upon the various warning signs of the past two decades of Putin's regime – especially the politicization and propagandistic use of history in terms of nationalist and imperial sacralization, as well as the repression of civil society, activism, or any other form of opposition. She gave insights into the desperation felt by many members of the Russian opposition and NGOs, having worked alongside many of them for multiple years. A key question Scherbakowa raised was how the public opinion in Russia could be assessed: how substantial is the support for the war on Ukraine? Is there any hope for widescale resistance? While predictions are incredibly difficult, Scherbakowa highlighted the profound, dangerous impact of the year-long propaganda in building up a sense of threat and de-legitimizing Ukraine´s sovereignty. She made an urgent appeal: Russia must stop the war, and the West must not compromise in its support for Ukraine and deliver arms now.

A roundtable discussion titled “Freedom in Times of Big Tech and Big Data” opened Day 2 of the festival and offered ethical, informational, and journalistic perspectives on whether the Internet provides "great freedom", or if such a vision is merely "great fiction''. The notion of a singular "great freedom" was deconstructed right at the beginning by JANINA LOH (Ethics Office at the Liebenau Foundation), who argued that different forms of freedom exist which must be weighed against each other. These differentiated freedoms are particularly evident in the digital realm which, however, is not to be regarded separate from the non-digital realm. HANNES WERTHNER (Vienna) added to this by offering insights into the operating modes of “Big Tech” and “Big Data” from an IT perspective, and pointed to the contradictory public image of programmers as either “plumbers” or “emperors”. SARAH KRIESCHE (Ö1) and OLE NYMOEN (free journalist) both discussed the implications for media and information politics, especially regarding the prevalence of fake news and the reinforcement of discrimination. All discussants stressed the importance of individual and collective responsibilities in taking up the existent scope of action to shape these developments.

That the idea of “multiple freedoms” and the close interconnection between the digital and the non-digital also rings true for today´s mobility politics was highlighted by STEFFEN MAU’s (Berlin) lecture on “The Freedom to be Mobile: Borders and Border Controls in the 21st Century”. Freedom is closely connected to the concept of mobility, said Mau, which points to the ambiguous idea of globalization and the alleged normalization of border-crossing. Yet borders and border-control are not a relic of the past. Instead, the distinguishing line between desired and undesired mobility has become more and more polarized, as it quite visibly functions along the global wealth divide, he elaborated. In this sense, today´s borders act as “sorting machines” or semi-permeable filters: coming in different forms they are increasingly mobile themselves. These new “smart borders” that work with “datafication” and “deterritorialization” might render the “paper border” obsolete in the near future. Whereas privileged groups are less affected – or might even gain conveniences –, globalized borders generate new forms of mobility inequality and stratification in parallel, Mau concluded.

The question of how to find words for pain and loss and express feelings of un-freedom marked the next event of the evening. KATERYNA BABKINA (Ukraine) and SYLWIA CHUTNIK (Poland) read excerpts from their literary work. Burgtheater actor NILS STRUNK read a text by SERHIJ ZHADAN (Ukraine). The readings as well as the following discussion focused on the role of literature in contemporary society and in times of war. When asked how to draw the line between their engagement as writers and as activists, the authors all concluded that there is “no choice but to be a part of the world” and such a dichotomy hence does not exist – although it can be challenging at times to live all these roles at once. The evening was concluded by a screening of the movie “Ukrainian Sheriffs” and a video message of its director ROMAN BONDARCHUK (Ukraine).

Day 3 opened with a panel discussion on “China and the Chinese People’s Search for Freedom in the Long 20th Century”, with FEDERICO PACHETTI (Budapest), AMANDA ZHANG (St. Andrews) and YITONG QIU (London). Here, the idea of “micro-freedoms” was discussed, referring to “small elements of freedom” presented by the authoritarian Chinese regime in the past and present of the country’s complex political, economic, and societal development. The panel offered a workshop-like exchange of ideas and reflections, detailing evolving concepts and challenges of freedom in the “long 20th century”. While Pachetti explained that the creation of a market economy most certainly marked an essential step in the pursuit of freedom, he warned against the illusion that this economic openness would eventually also lead to political freedom. This difference between “show” and “reality” was elaborated by Qiu and her historical overview of Western and Chinese relationships. She explained how “small elements of freedom” have shaped the Chinese understanding of Western liberalism, while at the same time a longer reach and firmer state control over almost all areas of daily life were established. Zhang especially stressed that this “Chinese illusion of (economic) freedom” is – and was – intrinsically gendered, as women had and still have to do both visible and invisible labor; production and reproduction go hand in hand. The continuing erosion of freedom in Chinas authoritarian regime is complex, the discussants agreed, but can be rendered visible by analyzing how “micro-freedoms” unfold and by deconstructing the illusions created by the Chinese state.

Next, TARA ZAHRA (Chicago) gave a lecture “Against the World: Anti-Globalism and 'Freedom' in Interwar Europe”. Taking the nostalgic image of pre-World War I mobility of people and goods as a starting point, she asked why so many people turned “against the world” after 1918 and opposed the notion of a growing interconnection of world regions and countries. Focusing on anti-globalist grassroots political movements mobilizing in various countries in the interwar period, Zahra elaborated how globalization and deglobalization, nationalism and internationalism were flipsides of the same coin and rose in tandem. The dangers of these anti-globalist and anti-internationalist movements and ideas became apparent in the spread of xenophobia and antisemitism. Anti-globalism, argued Zahra, has been closely connected to political movements for self-sufficiency and sustainability which defined freedom as the freedom from dependence on foreign food. As an example, Zahra presented the settler and self-sufficiency movement in interwar Austria and its biopolitical outlook on “national cuisine”. Closing, Zahra reflected upon how current experiences like the Covid-19 pandemic inform our perspective on the past, for example with regard to the notion of "preparedness". A concert by ISAMA ZING (Slovakia) concluded the evening.

The last day of the festival began with a panel discussion between JÚLIA KIRÀLY (Budapest) and HANNA GRONKIEWICZ-WALTZ (Warsaw) on “Illiberal Economies? On Economic Freedom in Poland and Hungary”. Kiràly served as Deputy Governor responsible for financial stability at the Central Bank of Hungary from 2007 to 2013, during which Viktor Orbán rose to power and the global financial crisis hit; Gronkiewicz-Waltz was the city president (mayor) of Warsaw from 2006 to 2018. Both shared their first-hand experiences of these times of rapid economic and political change. They explored how both countries are openly embracing “illiberal democracies”. The respective governing parties, PiS and FIDESZ, used their powers to illiberalize the economies – stemming from a loss of trust in the free market and from nationalistic agendas, Kiràly and Gronkiewicz-Waltz elaborated. Woven into effective political narratives – confirmed by recurring electoral success –, the economic prosperity promised by the governments, however, only reaches those already in power.

A roundtable on “Freedom and Unfreedom of Movement: Perspectives on Migration and Transformation” with the RECET’s scientific director and co-host of the festival, JANNIS PANAGIOTIDIS (Vienna), as well as NATALIA GEBERT (Foundation "Open House") and MANUELA BOJADŽIJEV (Berlin) wrapped up the festival. The discussion revolved around the central question of why and how we should think and talk about migration, and whether it is an effect of or reason for transformation. The roundtable especially highlighted the close interconnection between migration and social transformation, demanding from all of us – scholars and non-scholars alike –, to reflect upon the image and framing of migration that is presented to us in political, economic, media and social discourse.

In his closing remarks, Jannis Panagiotidis highlighted the transformations that the concept of freedom is currently undergoing against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the accelerating climate crisis. He argued that the Ukrainian struggle against the Russian invasion brought the freedom of the nation back onto the progressive agenda. The climate crisis, meanwhile, required the return of state regulation as a guarantor of freedom, rather than an attack on it.

The evening and the overall festival were concluded by the film screening of “The Other Side of Everything” by MILA TURAJLIĆ (Serbia), moderated by ANNA CALORI (Vienna).

Over the course of the festival, the interdisciplinary panel contributions and discussions highlighted the complexity of thinking about transformation(s) and freedom(s) and underlined the productivity of reflecting upon these two terms in tandem. Recurrent points of reference in the discussion on freedom and lack of freedom were the Russian war on Ukraine as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate catastrophe. Against the backdrop of these current crises, central concepts of social, economic, and political transformation and their intersecting dynamics were explored and probed. The summer marquee atmosphere made for an interesting twist, and certainly invited for discussion, in which not only the academic audience participated. The RECET-Festival succeeded in one thing above all: to allow dialogue to take place that actively reaches beyond the boundaries of academia, marking an important step in bringing together various voices, perspectives, findings, and questions addressing major issues of our time.

Conference Overview:

Opening remarks
Sebastian Schütze (des. Rector), Eva Nowotny (University Board), Philipp Ther (Vienna)

Lecture: What Unfreedom Can Teach us about Freedom
Moderation: Claudia Kraft (Vienna)

Christoph Möllers (Berlin)

Lecture: The Great Exodus: On (Un-)Freedom in Putin’s Russia
Moderation: Irena Remestwenski (Vienna)

Irina Scherbakowa (Memorial)
Followed by a reception with music by Andrej Prozorov (Ukraine)

Panel: Freedom in Times of “Big Tech” and “Big Data”
Moderation: Magdalena Baran-Szołtys (Vienna)

Roundtable discussion with Janina Loh (Ethics Office at the Liebenau Foundation), Sarah Kriesche (Ö1), Ole Nymoen (independent journalist, Jena), Hannes Werthner (Vienna)

Lecture: The Freedom to be Mobile: Borders and Border Controls in the 21st Century
Moderation: Dorothee Bohle (Vienna)

Steffen Mau (Berlin)

Panel: Freedom of Literature. Literature of Freedom
Moderation: Magdalena Baran-Szołtys (Vienna)

Reading and discussion with Kateryna Babkina (writer, Ukraine), Sylwia Chutnik (writer, Poland), Nils Strunk (actor at Burgtheater, Vienna), and texts by Serhij Zhadan (writer, Ukraine)

Film screening: „Ukrainian Sheriffs”
with a video greeting by film director Roman Bondarchuk (Ukraine)

Panel: China and the Chinese People's Search for Freedom during the 20th Century
Moderation: Sabrina Habich-Sobiegalla (Berlin)

Roundtable discussion with Federico Pachetti (Budapest), Amanda Zhang (St. Andrews), Yitong Qiu (London)

Lecture: Against the World: Anti-Globalism and “Freedom” in Interwar Europe
Moderation: Peter Becker (Vienna)

Tara Zahra (Chicago)

Concert
Isama Zing (Slovakia)

Panel: Illiberal Economies? On Economic Freedom in Poland and Hungary
Moderation: Lars Fredrik Stöcker (Vienna)

Discussion with Júlia Kiràly (former vice president of the Hungarian National Bank) and Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz (former president of the Polish Central Bank and Mayor of Warsaw)

Panel: Freedom and Unfreedom of Movement: Perspectives on Migration and Transformation
Moderation: Thuc Linh Nguyen Vu (Vienna)

Roundtable discussion with Natalia Gebert (Foundation "Open House"), Manuela Bojadžijev (Berlin), Jannis Panagiotidis (Vienna)

Conclusion: Freedom in Times of War and Climate Crisis
Jannis Panagiotidis (Vienna)

Film screening: „The Other Side of Everything“
Moderation: Anna Calori (Vienna)
Director: Mila Turajlic (Serbia)