Democracy After 2024
2024 was meant to be the year of democracy. According to UNDP’s count, in the biggest election year in global history nearly half of humanity – some 3.5 billion people – were able to cast votes in 72 countries. Even though long awaited elections were postponed in Ukraine and South Sudan, 2024 is still considered a “super-year of elections.”
And yet, Freedom House found 2024 to be the 18th consecutive year when freedom declined across the globe, in considerable part due to flawed elections. Freedom House’s Nicole Bibbins Sedaca raised concerns about an alarming uptick in political violence and violent rhetoric surrounding elections. International IDEA’s finding of a global decline pointed out that between mid-2020 and mid-2024, one in five elections was challenged in at least one legal proceeding, with voting and vote counting emerging as the most-litigated aspects of the electoral process.
As the year progressed commentators pointed out that an unusually high proportion of incumbents were removed and that voters shifted to the right in numerous countries. The continuing electoral appeal of openly anti-democratic candidates and parties is undeniable. The question remains to what extent this appeal can be attributed to, or blamed on, misinformation and disinformation campaigns assisted by AI, intimidation, violence and disfranchisement – and which other factors have been at play.
Yet, according to Tom Carothers, many of the elections did not signal noticeable change for democracy’s basic condition, or at least not immediately. The long-term effects of the 2024 elections on democracy will much depend on how the winners fare in office. The current debate thus centers on the positive and negative effects of 2024 on democracy.
In this podcast series leading experts offer insights into 2024 as a seminal year for global democracy and its significance for the years ahead, examining trends we should fear and showing where hope lies for a more democratic future.
All visual artwork featured in this series is created by Polina Fedorenko, and edited by Olena Stetsenko.
Democracy After 2024
Illiberal Transatlantic Ties and the Reshaping of Democracy: Lessons From the US and Hungary
In this episode of the Democracy After 2024 series, Zsuzsanna Végh and Daniel Hegedűs examine transatlantic cooperation between state and non-state actors in the United States and Hungary. They analyze commonalities in narratives and shared practices, assessing their impact on democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the German Marshall Fund of the United States or any institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated. Zsuzsanna Végh is a program officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and an associate researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Her analytical focus is on the populist radical right in Central and Eastern Europe, its impact on foreign policy and democratic quality, and the foreign and EU policies of the Visegrád countries. Daniel Hegedüs is a German Marshall Fund of the [...]
16.04.2025
Democracy After 2024
Liberal Democratic Standards Are Not Just an Opinion – Karolina Wigura on Polish Politics, Liberal Emotions, and Her Major Concerns
In the latest episode of our Democracy After 2024 series, Karolina Wigura discusses Poland’s current role in Europe and the changing polarization between liberal and illiberal forces; analyzes the role of emotions in contemporary liberal politics; reflects on how we distinguish between agendas of accountability, on the one hand, and of retribution and revenge, on the other; and explains what she will watch particularly closely in the coming months.
12.03.2025
Democracy After 2024
Beyond Narratives, Personas and Spectacles: A Conversation on Illiberal and Authoritarian Practices
In this episode of the Democracy After 2024 series, Dorjana Bojanovska Popovska hosts Marlies Glasius for a discussion that goes beyond traditional regime-type classifications and the public/private divide, by looking at examples of illiberal and authoritarian practices that emerged or peaked in 2024 as well as their diffusion across different contexts.
6.03.2025
Democracy After 2024
Public Attitudes and Dynamics of Opposition in Russia Since 2022
In this episode of the Democracy After 2024 series, Denys Tereshchenko hosts Margarita Zavadskaya to discuss the asymmetries of power between the state and civil society in Russia, public attitudes toward the full-scale invasion of Ukraine among Russians inside and outside Russia, and the reasons behind the failure of anti-war protests.
20.02.2025
Democracy After 2024
How To Counter the Mainstreaming of Extremist Ideas? – Julia Ebner on Radicalization Processes and Our Fraught Moment
In the latest episode of our Democracy After 2024 series, Julia Ebner discusses major developments regarding the mainstreaming of extremist ideas; explains how social media platforms have contributed to radicalization processes and considers whether we might be experiencing a new turning point right now; and sketches effective counterstrategies – and reflects on what might be missing from our current toolbox.
13.02.2025
Democracy After 2024
Ukraine Under Martial Law – Transformations of Domestic Policies and Civil Society
In this episode, a part of the Democracy After 2024 series, Oleksandra Kokhan is joined by Taras Fedirko and Serhiy Kudelia to discuss the transformations of domestic policies in Ukraine following the 2022 invasion and under martial law, the (im)possibility of holding elections, and the role of civil society today.
5.02.2025
Democracy After 2024
The Significance and Trajectory of Ukrainian Democracy Since 2022
In this episode of the Democracy After 2024 series, Ukrainian journalist and editor Arina Kravchenko hosts Ukrainian poet, prose writer, and essayist Mykola Riabchuk. They discuss the significance of democracy to Ukrainian national identity and the country’s social fabric. The conversation focuses especially on Ukrainian democracy’s trajectory since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 as viewed from within Ukrainian society and as a rediscovered object of interest from the outside. Mykola Riabchuk is the president of the Ukrainian PEN-center and a senior research fellow at the Institute of Political and Nationalities’ Studies, the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. His most recent publications include At the Fence of Metternich’s Garden. Essays on Europe, Ukraine, and Europeanization (Stuttgart, 2021) and Nationalist’s Lexicon (in Ukrainian), a collection of essays published in 2022. Arina Kravchenko is a Ukrainian journalist, editor, and book reviewer. Artwork: [...]
31.01.2025
Democracy After 2024
When Should the Majority Rule? – Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt on Countermajoritarian Institutions and the Question of Democratic Resilience
In this conversation, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt examine the various types of countermajoritarian institutions and reflect on which are democracy-enhancing and which can potentially subvert democracy. Levitsky and Ziblatt show the connections between the strong countermajoritarian features of the U.S. political system and its ongoing democratic backsliding. They also consider how the trade-offs between countermajoritarianism and democratic stability have played out across the globe.
17.01.2025
