Executive MPA   Executive training  

EMPA-E1025

Democracy is under attack in many parts of the world – we have observed Trump in the US (with a potential revival in 2024), Bolsonaro in Brazil, Viktor Orban in Hungary and the PiS-Party in Poland. Italy is currently experiencing a neo-fascist government under Meloni and who knows how France and the far right will develop in the next presidential election in 2025. But besides these visible big shifts in government we have also experienced smaller institutional changes that challenge/break with democratic principles.

 

Political Science is debating these trends under the headline “democratic backsliding”, “regression of democracy” and “re-autocratization”. Our seminar deals with the big question how to recognize these developments, how to measure and contextualize them and also have a deep-dive into how different regime-types are debated in the social sciences. We will also have a debate on the role of (changing) role of media in democracies, on the role of politics as a profession and will close with democracy scenarios. What potential paths can democracy take? Where are risks and challenges, but also opportunities?

Instructors