Democracy
is now universally valued, and no powerful alternative exists today to societies governed
by the will of the people, expressed in free and fair elections. The ongoing
collapse of Arab authoritarianism is a striking manifestation of democracy’s
appeal. However, at the same time, democracy seems to be in crisis in Europe:
trust in democratic institutions and voters' turnout is declining dramatically,
whereas populism as well as xenophobia are on the rise and the common public
sphere is fragmenting. “Is Liberal Democracy at Risk?” – this question was at the center of a
public debate at the Vienna Akademietheater on June 26. Emma Bonino, Vice President of the Italian Senate, Ronald Dworkin, Professor of Philosophy at New York and
Oxford Universities, George Soros, the founder of the Open Society
Foundations, as well as former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and Canadian philosopher and IWM
Permenant Fellow Charles Taylor were on stage to discuss what can be done to save democracy in times of
political turmoil.
Emma Bonino
Vice-president of the Italian Senate; Minister for International Trade
in the cabinet of Romano Prodi from 2006 to 2008
Ronald Dworkin
Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Law, New York University and
Oxford University
George Soros
Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations.
Guy Verhofstadt
Chairperson of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the
European Parliament; Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008.
Moderation:
Charles Taylor
Professor em. of Philosophy, McGill University, Montréal; IWM Permanent
Fellow
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