The shocking images of the summer of 2021 with Afghans falling from Western planes taking off from the Kabul airport signal the end of an era. Does this imply, as President Biden suggested, that the time of state-building abroad is over for America? And what about Europe, as France also, more discreetly but not less importantly, had to pull out from Mali this summer? What will happen with the promotion of human rights and democracy, are people in countless countries who believed in the universality of such values to be thrown off the planes as well?
Supporting democrats increasingly means fighting autocrats. “Autocratization Turns Viral”, an influential V-Dem report proclaimed in 2021. This marks the end of a widespread illusion after 1989, that the fourth wave of democratization will continue until it will embrace the entire world. Not only have China and North Korea managed to survive, but Turkey and Russia, which had once seemed poised to consolidate their democracies, slipped back to autocratic regimes. Since 2015 we witnessed the first period since 1974 in which more countries transitioned from democracy than turned to it. However, in many countries of the world economic recession first and the pandemics after did not manage to destroy democracy, even if many of its aspects – political communication and representation- are undergoing the most important changes for generations.
We shall debate these questions with the world’s leading experts and democracy activists in Berlin this year, looking for solutions and answers to this grave democratic recession that we face. What can be sustainably done to continue to support people or groups who fight for democracy in difficult circumstances? What can our generation propose compared to the scheme of Friedman like economists who bankrupted the USSR and their satellites last century, opening the door to freedom for many nations? What intellectual resources can the academic community summon to win the case once again for democracy and support policymakers advance the cause of freedom for endangered communities?
The series is moderated by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor for Democracy Studies at the Hertie School and Director of the European Research Centre for Anti-Corruption and State-Building (ERCAS).
Past events
Hungary and Brazil: Populism and the Rule of Law | 25 May 2022
Why did Viktor Orban win again in Hungary, despite being isolated in the European Union? Why did the Brazilian anti-corruption operation Lava Jato end in a populist winning elections and a counterreaction to the attempt to curb immunity culture? Why don’t the constituencies in Hungary, Brazil and elsewhere manage to endorse the rule of law clearly and decisively?
In the last debate of ERCAS’ Democracy Promotion after Afghanistan series, Brazil's former Minister of Justice Sergio Moro and Hungary's former Minister of Education Bálint Magyar talked about the struggle between the rule of law and populism. Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School, moderated the conversation.
Watch the recording on YouTube.
Democracy in Asia after the pandemic | 27 April 2022
Asian democracy might be facing the ultimate storm. Illiberalism has resurged and authoritarianism is on the rise. Covid-19 has made things worse, as leaders used the pandemic to bolster their autocratic reign in the cloak of securing public health. Some Asian countries, like India, face problems from within, while others face China. However, both refrained from condemning Russia too harshly for its Ukrainian invasion.
In this episode of ERCAS’ Democracy Promotion after Afghanistan series, Christophe Jaffrelot, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for International Studies and Research at Sciences Po, and Daniela Stockmann, Professor of Digital Governance at the Hertie School, discussed the future of democracy in Asia. Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School, moderated the conversation.
Watch the recording on YouTube.
Can warmongering autocrats be overthrown? | 23 March 2022
As the European Union tries to escape Putin’s energy trap, the risk is that it turns once again to other autocrats, in Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia. And while we strive to cut Putin’s war funding, do we really have the means to do so?
Dr. Louise Shelley, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, and Dr. Leila Alieva, Affiliate of Russian and East European Studies at Oxford's School of Global and Area Studies, tasked about where the power of warmongering autocrats comes from, and where should we look for their weak spots. Moderated by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School.
Watch the recording on YouTube.
What went wrong? Discussion with Ukrainian experts | 09 March 2022
8 years on from Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, the Ukrainian democracy is now literally under attack from Russia. While the international community unites behind Ukrainians defending democracy, this event looked at the road ahead. What are the perspectives for the Ukrainian reform process, especially given new opportunities (such as application for EU membership) and threats on the table? How will Ukrainian civil society respond? And how will the events have a broader significance across the region?
In this discussion, the two Ukrainian experts, Dr. Iryna Solonenko, Senior Fellow at the Center for Liberal Modernity (LibMod) in Berlin and Orysia Lutsevych is Head of the Ukraine Forum in the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, shared their insights into what these events mean for Ukraine’s future moderated by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School.
Watch the recording on YouTube.
Europe, besieged fortress or democracy promoter? | 23 February 2022
In the past decade, the EU has been shaken by security problems created by refugees from unsolved conflicts in the Middle East or Africa, the rise of Turkey and Russia as regional autocratic powers and the dissent of member states like Hungary or Poland from core EU values.
How can a continent that often feels besieged stand the course in promoting its values abroad?
That was the discussion between Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman of the European Stability Initiative, and Dr. Radwan A. Masmoudi, Founder and President of the Center of the Study of Islam & Democracy, moderated by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School.
Watch the recording on YouTube.
Are US and EU parting ways on democracy promotion? | 17 November 2021
While the US seem increasingly uninterested in promoting democracy abroad, the Von der Leyen Commission endeavours to strengthen democracy in the European neighbourhood and beyond.
The third debate of ERCAS’ Democracy Promotion after Afghanistan series focused on the future of EU-US democracy promotion efforts, with Thomas Carothers, Interim President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Richard Youngs, Professor of international relations at the University of Warwick and Senior Fellow in Carnegie Europe’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School, moderated the discussion.
Watch the recording on YouTube.
Are autocrats beating democrats at their own game? | 27 October 2021
Western liberal order is increasingly under stress from a new generation of “spin dictators” and Democrats find it difficult to respond.
Larry Diamond, Professor of Political Science and Sociology at Stanford University, and Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics and Scientific Director of Sciences Po’s Master's and PhD programmes, discussed how to address this emerging challenge. Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School, moderated the discussion.
Couldn't make it? Listen to the audio recording here.
Was Afghanistan’s corruption made in America? | 22 September 2021
The recent US troop withdraw from Afghanistan shed light on the fragility of democracy in conflict-ridden societies and the limits of nation-building abroad. A discussion is needed on how to salvage democracy promotion and not abandon democracy activists who engaged in such difficult areas.
This was the launch debate of ERCAS’ Democracy Promotion after Afghanistan series with Sarah Chayes, former advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and author of Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security, and Muska Dastageer, from the American University of Afghanistan, moderated by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, Professor of Democracy Studies at the Hertie School.
Watch the recording on YouTube.