Skills for Crisis - Online Event - Kick-Off

Our Kick-Off Event took place in May already. We will step by step post Videos and Transcripts of the Event.

What was this event about? – Short Summary

On shock treatments of societies in the face of crisis and the concept of Dark Enlightenment – We listened to how events like disasters and market falls are used to advance certain political goals. Pablo Jiménez Cea discussed the idea of Dark Enlightenment, focusing on the fast pace of capitalism, harm to the environment, and growing far-right movements.

Politics of emotion, from (Indivudual) Fears to (Collective) Cares and examples of the anti-authoritarian strategy handbook: “Beyond Molotovs” – Firoozeh Farvardin looked at how fear is used in politics and discuss caring politics that help fight anxiety and loneliness. We gained insights from feminist groups and anti-authoritarian methods in the visual handbook Beyond Molotovs. The talked challenged the current system while looking for better options to combat capitalism’s harmful effects.

The Inputs – Youtube Videos

We recorded the inputs and published them on Youtube. The Inputs are in English language. On Youtube you can choose English Subtitles with a Click on the Symbol at the bottom saying “CC”.

The Inputs – Transcripts

The transcript of Firoozeh Farvaradin will be available in three languages soon. To open the .pdf, click on the Link.

Speakers

Firoozeh Farvardin

Firoozeh Farvardin is a feminist scholar and activist based in Berlin and Vienna. She was born and raised in Iran before moving to Europe. She studied sociology in both Iran and Germany and has actively participated in grassroots movements and initiatives primarily related to feminist and refugee struggles.

Picture of Firoozeh Havardin looking into the camera.

Since September 2024, she has worked as a university assistant at the Institute of Political Science (IPW) at the University of Vienna, specializing in politics and gender. Before her current position, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the International Research Group on Authoritarianism and Counter-Strategies (IRGAC) at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, where she continues to serve as a research associate and collaborates with them. She is also affiliated with the Middle East Research Group (MERGE) at the Berlin Institute for Empirical Integration and Migration Research (BIM), where she has been conducting research and teaching since 2015.

Currently, her research and activism concentrate on gender and sexual (counter)strategies and feminist utopianism under authoritarian neoliberalism, particularly focusing on the Global South(s).

Publication relevant for our project:

Firoozeh Farvardin, Gustavo Robles (2025): From (Indivudual) Fears to (Collective) Cares

https://irgac.org/articles/from-individual-fears-to-collective-cares

Pablo Jiménez Cea

Pablo Jiménez Cea has a Master’s Degree in Sociology and is a teacher of History and Social Sciences. His main research interests are related to radical social criticism, new readings of Marx and the critical analysis of contemporary social struggles in the context of the capitalist crisis. Some of his writings and translations can be found on the Nec plus ultra website (necplusultra.noblogs.org).

Pablo Jimenez Cea looking into the camera.

Publication relevant for our project:

Pablo Jiménez Cea (2024): Perverse Possibilities of Capitalist Collapse: Neoreaction and Dark Enlightenment as an Authoritarian Alternative to the Structural Crisis of Global Capitalism

https://irgac.org/articles/perverse-possibilities-of-capitalist-collapse-neoreaction-and-dark-enlightenment-as-an-authoritarian-alternative-to-the-structural-crisis-of-global-capitalism