The State of Liberal Democracy: An Attempt at Optimism
Is liberal democracy dying? Is “fascism” on the rise? And what, if anything, can we learn from history? In this lecture, Cas Mudde will attempt a more optimistic assessment of the state of liberal democracy in contemporary Europe and North America. By comparing both the political threat and the political context to those of the 1930s, he argues that we are in a better place today. Moreover, for all the recent backlashes, most countries are still moving forward, albeit haltingly. But while liberal democracy largely holds, in systemic terms, the real challenge is at the ideological level. Hence, while it remains important to oppose “anti-democratic” forces, it is even more important to strengthen liberal democracy, in terms of both ideas and institutions.
This event is part of the Lecture Series “A Never-Ending Crisis? Transatlantic Perspectives on the State of Liberal Democracy”, co-sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service