"A triumph of unreason"
Crisis Talk on 3 September 2024
Regression of democracy in Europe 100 days after the election
2024 is a global super-election year: around 45% of the world's population will be called upon to cast their vote in some 70 elections. At the same time, however, data from the Varieties of Democracy Project (V-Dem) shows that the quality of democracy is declining worldwide and that autocratization, often described as the regression of democracy, is occurring in several places. Last Tuesday, Vice President of the European Parliament Dr. Katarina Barley, MEP Prof. Dr. Sven Simon and Prof. Dr. Rainer Forst (Director of the Research Center Normative Orders at the Goethe University Frankfurt) discussed the state of the regression of democracy 100 days after the European elections. The event was part of the Crisis Talks series organized by the Leibniz Research Network CrisEn, the Research Center Normative Orders and the European Office of the Leibniz Association together with the Representation of the State of Hesse to the EU.
After welcoming speeches by Dr. Parinas Parhisi (LV Hessen) and Dr. Stefan Kroll (PRIF), the event began with a keynote speech by Rainer Forst on the sociologically abstract concept of regression, which is essentially about authoritarian and anti-human rights actors who "invoke democracy and endanger it at the same time". With regard to the EU in particular, there is a "real paradox" in the fact that "parties have been elected to the Parliament for which this Parliament itself and the principles of the EU are a thorn in their side. This is a profound attack on the understanding of democracy that must be fended off at all costs. Democracy should never be understood in such a way that political power is used to dominate minorities in such a way that they are denied the opportunity to participate. Democracy is based on "respect for the rights of all persons as free and equal human beings. Not only to undermine these minimum standards, but to aggressively fight against them, and thus to be successful in elections, is far from being an expression of legitimate democracy, but rather a "triumph of unreason" that must be countered.
Katarina Barley then emphasized that this reinterpretation of democratic concepts is not accidental, but rather the core of regressive strategies. In her political practice, she has repeatedly experienced that terms are taken over, twisted at their core and actually used with anti-democratic intentions. The strengthening of the right in the European elections is now leading to the normalization and valorization of these interpretations in the political process. This observation was shared by Sven Simon, who cited inappropriate attacks on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as another example, but Simon also emphasized the clear pro-European majority in the Parliament, which stands in opposition to the regressive forces.
During the ensuing discussion, moderator Rebecca C. Schmidt navigated through a number of other important topics in EU politics that shed light on the state and self-image of democracy in the Union, such as the current Hungarian Presidency. Katarina Barley acknowledged that in the past there have been mixed expectations when actors critical of the EU took on responsible roles, but that this often turned out to be less problematic. In the case of the current presidency, however, it is indeed the case that it is in part seeking an escalation.
There were different perspectives on the panel regarding the issue of migration of asylum seekers. While Rainer Forst pointed to human rights as the central yardstick, Sven Simon emphasized the legal basis of migration, such as the requirement in the German constitution that the right to asylum cannot be claimed by anyone entering from an EU country or a safe third country. The goal must be not only to accept people, but also to offer them integration, and this is where resources are ultimately limited. But it is also important - and this builds a bridge to the sovereignty of interpretation - not to leave the definition of the challenges in the field of migration to the extremists. According to Forst, the fact that migration is always associated with concepts of threat and security also has an impact.
The final questions from the audience focused, among other things, on the possibility of expanding direct democratic elements. While Sven Simon and Katharina Barley were clearly in favor of representative democracy, Rainer Forst once again emphasized the potential of democracy beyond elections - democracy is more than just "counting ballots". A nice closing statement, we think.
