Europa im Diskurs - Debating Europe: The Global Right - A Challenge for Liberal Democracy

The Trump administration disrupted long-standing assumptions about the rules and institutions that sustain democratic governance. Taking their cue from the former U.S. president, forces seeking to undermine democracy have forged a transnational network aimed at attacking the foundations upon which liberal democracies rely. In a Debating Europe panel discussion at the Burgtheater, leading experts in political science, sociology, and investigative journalism came together to explore the strategies and mechanisms by which right-wing populist and authoritarian movements operate globally. The panel examined how these networks mobilize across cultural and linguistic borders and analyzed the role that digital platforms and social media play in spreading anti-democratic narratives. They also discussed which strategies might prove effective in countering this fundamental assault on democratic values. The panel featured: Sylvie Kauffmann, foreign affairs columnist and editorial director at Le Monde Jagoda Marinic, writer, journalist, and podcaster, regular columnist for Stern magazine, and contributor to the New York Times Jan-Werner Müller, Roger Williams Straus Professor of Social Sciences at Princeton University and Director of the Program in Political Philosophy Soli Özel, Senior Fellow at the Institut Montaigne in Paris and Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) The discussion was moderated by Gerold Riedmann, editor-in-chief of DER STANDARD. The event was opened with welcoming remarks by Misha Glenny, Rector of the IWM.