- Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook, Senior Advisor, Bertelsmann Stiftung
- Kwasi Prempeh, Executive director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development and Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow, Robert Bosch Academy
- Ekaterina Schulmann, Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow, Robert Bosch Academy
As the Robert Bosch Academy enters the 10th year of its existence, join us for the third event of our special series “Anniversary Debates” to discuss some of the most pressing challenges of our times and to join hands in finding solutions. The upcoming Anniversary Debate will focus on the issue of Democracy.
In light of the rise of exclusive identity politics across the world, the health and status of a democracy is being hotly contested in this super election year 2024. These topics have been at the fore in elections in India, the EU, and France, as well as the election campaign in the U.S., and elsewhere as well. Most of the conversation on the state and nature of our political systems has oscillated between the extremes of "democracy under danger" and "democracy has prevailed."
There is fierce discussion about Western liberal democratic values being in danger across the world. But are they really? And if so, who decided that Western liberal democracy is the right way forward for everyone? Who decides on which ideologies adhere to this version of democracy and which do not? Does the far right qualify by the sheer fact that it gets elected? What are the markers of a healthy, liberal democracy? Who defined them and according to what parameters?
A vast variety of politicians, leaders, and populists are tapping into this space of tension. They instrumentalize their rationales to confront Western liberal democracies as well as left-leaning liberals in their own countries. They delegitimize their views and concerns and pursue a politics of exclusion. It is high time to address this tension, understand the nuances and pressure points, and look to the causes rather than just the symptoms. We have to find common ground by exploring whether a collective understanding of democracy is possible in the first place.
The debate will be followed by a reception with canapés and drinks.