Is hope a mistake? Literature and politics in Dark Europe

“Hope is a mistake”. On its face, the moto of László Krasznahorkai’s book Herscht 07769 reads like a dystopian prophecy. In the normalized far-right reality of today’s Europe, the consolidation of political authoritarianism and the unfettered power of modern techno-feudalists seem to negate even the possibility of hope. Krasznahorkai plunges the reader straight into the corrosion of the modern world and the emergence of a new status quo; a Dark Europe where absurdity, brutality and hate are the new norms. Using the 2025 Nobel Prize winner’s novel as a starting point, we will take a long and wide view of this transition: How did ostensibly fringe ideas become dominant? What are the limits of literature and political analysis when faced with a transformation so violent that we are either left speechless or sent scrambling for oversimplifications? Joining László Krasznahorkai in conversation, three guests will help guide us through these thorny questions. Essayist Caroline Emcke has detailed the ways in which language normalizes barbarism. Far-right expert Kostis Papaioannou has described the gradual shift of “acceptable speech”. Historian Kostis Karpozilos has outlined the limitations of historical analogies. Don’t expect easy answers. This conversation will show that we need to familiarize ourselves with the wider realm of complexity, where perhaps the “mistake” can be read anew as a sign towards the possibility of hope.