#rp26 speakers Anne Rabe & Yasmine M’Barek: No democracy without morals?

For some, morality has become a loaded term or is considered naive or disruptive. In her essay ‘Das M-Wort. Gegen die Verachtung der Moral’ (The M-Word: Against the Contempt for Morality), Anne Rabe argues against this view: morality is not a sentimental addition, but the foundation of democratic societies. The writer questions ‘whether we can really afford to abandon moral standards and ideas in a rapidly changing world.’

In the past, contempt for morality has always been ‘the driving force behind reactionary and even violent movements’. Violence occurs above all where morality is abused to oppress people – for example, in dictatorships. It is therefore more important than ever to actively defend morality.

How free of ideology can a debate really be? How can we find common solutions beyond partisan thinking? And what does it mean, in the spirit of the re:publica 26 motto ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’, not to abandon moral convictions even in difficult, polarising times?

At re:publica 26, Anne Rabe will speak about the definition of morality underlying her book – the equality of all people – and what this means in political terms. Based on debates about poverty, migration, climate policy, and right-wing and radicalisation tendencies, she will shed light on how moral reference points are being pushed back in public discourse and what consequences this has for social cohesion. Yasmine M'Barek will moderate the discussion.

Anne Rabe is a writer. She has received numerous awards and scholarships for her plays. She was part of the team of writers for the comedy series ‘Warten auf'n Bus’ (Waiting for the Bus). In her essays and articles, she deals with the history of violence in East Germany, sexualised violence and the rise of right-wing extremism in Germany and Europe. Her debut novel, ‘Die Möglichkeit von Glück’ (The Possibility of Happiness), was published in spring 2023. The novel not only made the shortlists for the Aspekte Literature Prize and the German Book Prize, but also appeared on the SPIEGEL bestseller list. Anne's first non-fiction book, ‘Das M-Wort. Gegen die Verachtung der Moral’ (The M-Word: Against the Contempt of Morality), was published in August 2025.

Yasmine M'Barek is a freelance author and journalist at ZEIT. In 2020, she was voted one of the ‘Top 30 under 30’ journalists by Medium Magazine. Following ‘Radikale Kompromisse’ (Radical Compromises) and ‘Protest – Über Wirksamkeit und Risiken des zivilen Ungehorsams’ (Protest – On the Effectiveness and Risks of Civil Disobedience), her latest essay collection, ‘I feel you – Über Empathie’ (I Feel You – On Empathy), was published. Until 2025, she interviewed leading German politicians on the ZEIT podcast ‘Ehrlich jetzt?’ (Honestly?). In the podcast ‘Apokalypse & Filterkaffee’ (Apocalypse & Filter Coffee), she discusses current news in politics and pop culture with her guests or co-host Markus Feldenkirchen several times a week. As an expert on German domestic politics, Yasmine is a regular guest on political TV talk shows.