Discussion: Democracy in Crisis or Democracy at Work? Two Views on the Direction of European Politics
David Goodhart, Journalist and Author, UK
Niccolò Milanese, European Alternatives, NECE Advisory Board, Fellow at IWM Vienna, UK/France
Moderation: Stephen M. Carroll, France 24, France
Brexit, Trump and populism in Europe suggest that Western democracies have entered a period of protracted crisis. The ongoing transformation of democracies and economies are unsettling millions of citizens creating entry points for polarising emotional politics, in which nationalist resentments and calls for authoritarian solutions are largely echoed.
This view is held by many observers, including Niccolò Milanese, Director of European Alternatives and Member of the NECE Advisory Board. Contrary to this, the British author and journalist David Goodhart interprets the recent events as indicator of thriving democracy, hence far from being in crisis; checks and balances were working and the ‘direction of travel’ in European politics is towards a new kind of ‘decent populism’.
Niccolò Milanese and David Goodhart will discuss their radically different interpretations of our current problems and the conclusions for active citizenship education.