The Czech philosopher Jan Patočka wrote in Europe and the post-European Age that demolition is a certain type of construction. The current rise of nationalism, the erosion of the rule of law, and the dismantlement of liberal state institutions in Europe raise concerns about what could be built after that demolition of the European order. While Hungary and Poland have made a sharp right-turn, the Czech Republic is still at the crossroads. Which way might it go? In this lecture, Hofmannová will focus on the status of national minorities and discuss the differences between a “conservative” and a “flexible” definition of what constitute a national minority. Does a flexible approach, advocated by International organizations, still have a chance to be promoted in Europe?

Helena Hofmannová is an associate professor of constitutional law at Charles University in Prague as well as an adviser to the judge of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. After the fall of communism, she has been a pioneer researcher in the field of the legal and social positions of Jewish minorities in the Czech Republic. Recently, in light of the threats to liberal democracy, she has lectured on human rights protection and democratic theory, with a special focus on Europe. Between 2012 and 2014, she was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities. In 2018, she was appointed to the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. She is the author and co-author of several books, as well as a number of articles.

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