Almost everywhere in the world, the super-rich have become very much richer in the past five decades.

It is intuitive to think that this may be bad for the quality of democracy, but we still know very little about the relationship between the rise of the super-rich and the decline of democracies. 

Are the super-rich undermining democracy? What forms does their political influence take, and how might democratic institutions defend themselves? 

In this double lecture, Marlies Glasius and Ward Berenschot examine the political influence of the super-rich with examples from the United States, India, Indonesia, Russia and western Europe. 

They map the causal mechanisms linking the concentration of wealth and the erosion of democratic institutions, and draw out the implications for the defense of democracy.

Aftertalk

After each presenting for about 25 minutes, Marlies and Ward engage in conversation.

Drinks & snacks afterwards from 17:00 to 18:00

About the speakers

Marlies Glasius is Professor in International Relations at the AISSR department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam.

Ward Berenschot is Professor by Special Appointment in Comparative Political Anthropology at the AISSR Anthropology department of the University of Amsterdam.