Living in Authoritarian Times: Everyday Struggles and Antifascist Tactics

An insightful and moving conversation with Rahul Bhatia, Volkan Çidam, Mike Dele Dittrich Frydetzki, and Joseph Howley, moderated by Zeynep Gambetti (see bios below). Our panelists consider the contradictions, dilemmas, and intimate aspects of authoritarianism: how it affects the way we behave, feel, and relate to each other; how it generates indignation, fear, paranoia, resignation, or trauma; and how it changes what we choose to hold dear and what we come to find unbearable. They also discuss everyday tactics and collective resistance; where they find the inspiration and courage; and what wisdom they would share with their younger selves (or someone only recently beginning to live under authoritarian conditions).

This event took place on October 26, 2025 and was organized by the April Institute, Emergencies of Authoritarianism, and Critical Theory Under Pressure. Special thanks to Daniel Loick, Chad Kautzer, Myriam Kamara, and Konstantin Atanassow for making it happen.

Panelists:

Rahul Bhatia is the author of The New India: The Unmaking of the World’s Largest Democracy (PublicAffairs, 2024), a book about the role technology and nationalism have played in democracy’s retreat. He is a Harvard Radcliffe fellow and has won the True Story Award.

Volkan Çıdam received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main. He is a member of Academics for Peace, Istanbul, and worked as an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Boğaziçi University until very recently, when his contract was not renewed following the political takeover of the university.

Mike Dele Dittrich Frydetzki is a researcher and performance artist. They are currently working on a Ph.D. at the Berlin University of the Arts about (non-)consensual modes of communication in rehearsal processes based on the work of intimacy coordination. Simultaneously, Mike is active in connecting and supporting queer struggles in East Germany.

Joseph Howley is Associate Professor in the Department of Classics at Columbia University and currently a Fellow at the Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris. Beginning in 2023, he was active in organizing faculty and staff at Columbia against the authoritarian assault on higher education and the weaponization of antisemitism charges to suppress free speech and advance far-right politics.

Zeynep Gambetti is a political theorist and co-chair of the International Board of the International Consortium of Critical Theory.

Here you can see the event announcement.

Cooperation partners: Emergencies of Authoritarianism, The April Institute, and Critical Theory Under Pressure