The Democratic Challenge
 

​

The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 was a monumental moment in European History and represented the democratic aspiration of a generation.  For several decades Europeans lived in the shadow of the Cold War and under the threat of mutual destruction.  As the divide between East and West crumbled many foresaw a peaceful future and the victory of democracy.

 

In recent years faith in democracy seems less sure and the rise of populism in Europe and elsewhere suggests that societal conflicts and social unrest are increasingly undermining democratic values.
 

The Democracy Conference offers humanists, historians, political scientists, philosophers and social scientists a venue to weigh in on the democratic debate and to present current research on the evolution of democracy and contemporary perspectives on the forces threatening to undermine democratic institutions.