AISSR Lecture by Marlies Glasius & Ward Berenschot
Almost everywhere in the world, the super-rich have become much richer over the past five decades.
It is intuitive to think that this may be harmful to the quality of democracy, yet we still know surprisingly little about the relationship between the rise of the super-rich and the decline of democratic institutions.
Are the super-rich undermining democracy? What forms does their political influence take, and how might democratic institutions defend themselves?
In this lecture, Marlies Glasius and Ward Berenschot jointly explored the political influence of the super-rich through examples from the United States, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Western Europe.
Combining their perspectives, they examined the mechanisms linking the concentration of wealth to the erosion of democratic institutions, and reflected on what this means for the future and defense of democracy.
Following their joint lecture, there was time for an aftertalk and discussion with the audience.
Marlies Glasius is Professor of International Relations at the University of Amsterdam, specialising in authoritarianism, global civil society, international criminal justice, and the political influence of the super-rich. Her research explores how authoritarian practices operate across states, corporations, and global institutions in an increasingly interconnected world. She is the author of several influential books, including Authoritarian Practices in a Global Age (2023).
Ward Berenschot is Professor of Comparative Political Anthropology at the AISSR / University of Amsterdam and senior researcher at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV). His research focuses on democracy, political influence, clientelism, and public opinion manipulation in India and Indonesia, combining ethnographic fieldwork with comparative political analysis. He is the author of several influential books on democracy, elections, and political violence, including Democracy for Sale