War forces Change in Democracy

“The change in our society is currently not coming from democratic-political movements, but from autocrats, war and the pandemic. This presents our democracy with major challenges that we can only master if we overcome the polarization of the population and learn to make compromises again.” Political scientist Sieglinde Rosenberger came to this conclusion during the panel discussion “Promised Land – Closed Society?”

Politics unsettles everyone involved

“Change is actually a constant in society and politics,” Rosenberger made clear right at the beginning of her statement. But where does this change come from and what is driving it? “At the moment it is mainly coming from outside, through crises such as climate change, the Ukraine war or the corona pandemic,” says the democracy researcher. The latter led to massive uncertainty in politics, because important decisions had to be made without previous experience. This uncertainty can also be felt in the population. “The parties are less and less able to hold society together,” said the expert. Go to press release.