The crisis of democracy revisited | U!REKA online-lecture series: Democracy under threat
Democracy is one of the ‘core values’ of the European Union. Together with the rule of law and human rights, it forms the normative basis for open, inclusive and just societies committed to tolerance, solidarity and non-discrimination. However, scholars and commentators have been speaking about a ‘crisis of democracy’ for decades, and it appears that this crisis has magnified in the last years.
In our online lecture series, we analyse the present moment and discuss what conditions it – in economic, political, socio-cultural, technological and ecological terms. And in so doing, we explore what democracy is, and what it could be, how it is threatened and why and what can be done to defend and extend it in a sustainable way.
26/11/2026, 16:00-17:00 (CET)
The crisis of democracy revisited: What can we learn from the past 50 years?
In 1975, the Trilateral Commission published an analysis of Western countries’ “ungovernability” or “excess” of democracy. Today, few would argue seriously that there is an excess of democracy. Nevertheless, ungovernability is more widely acknowledged amid a profound and deepening crisis of legitimacy. Whereas 50 years ago a powerful organised labour movement demanded greater workplace representation or industrial democracy, 2026 is characterised by a pervasive and intensifying social insecurity. Predictable recourse to nationalism and militarism, appeals to imagined glorious pasts, and assignment of blame to convenient scapegoats all offer, at best, temporary distraction, but ultimately serve to deepen popular discontent. How did we reach this historical moment? And what is to be done?
Speaker: Michael Keaney (Metropolia University of Applied Sciences Helsinki)
Chair: Alexander Gallas (Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences)
Target Group
Lectures are open to everyone interested in questions of democracy and especially to all members of U!REKA universities including students and life-long learners.
Registration
is required – please click here. The online links will be provided by email together with the confirmation of the registration.