Kenya had awaited the presidential elections held on August 9, 2022 with bated breath. The elections were won by William Ruto, who defeated opponent Raila Odinga by just a few percentage points. Ruto succeeds Uhuru Kenyatta, who leaves office having served his two permitted terms. This Spotlight analyzes the reasons for Ruto’s success, and, reflecting on his political career, discusses what can be expected from his presidency. We argue that both his success and his career have been strongly influenced by Kenya’s political history and the power structures of political alliances—especially in the context of previous elections.
Schlagwort: Demokratie
“For this Forced Heaven”: Women’s Rights as the Path to Democracy in Iran
Iran’s streets have been the scene of inspiring portraits created by women and young girls chanting “women, life, freedom” over the past six weeks. Starting as a reaction to the death of 22-year-old Zhina (Mahsa) Amini, who was killed by the so-called “morality police” for wearing her hijab improperly, the protests have now turned into a cross-class, women-led movement for democracy and rule of law. This post looks at the situation of women from a historical perspective after the Islamic revolution and argues that women’s rights are acting as a connector to unite different groups and social classes fighting for democracy and rule of law in the current protests.
Brazil’s Presidential Election: How Far does the Populist Glow Reach?
The first round of Brazil’s presidential elections took place on 2 October 2022. The result was 43.2% for incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and 48.4% for ex-president (2003–2010) Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva. Given that none of the candidates achieved more than 50%, a final run-off is scheduled for 30 October. Pre-election polls predicted Lula would reach the critical 50% threshold. These polls also projected Bolsonaro would win around 36%. But in the end, his vote share was more than 43%. This result left the world searching for an explanation.
Responding to Foreign Interference in the EU: Beware of Unintended Consequences
The EU’s emerging response to foreign interference, as it is currently debated in the EU Parliament, contains striking similarities to arguments put forth by some governments around the world seeking to justify harsh restrictions on foreign funding and “foreign agents.” This risks producing serious ramifications for civic spaces and international civil society support—both within and beyond the EU.
The 2023 Elections in Turkey. Can the Opposition Challenge Erdoğan and the AKP?
Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections on June 18, 2023, will be a notable juncture point. These elections will determine the country’s future and direction, and are therefore not only significant for domestic politics, but also at the international level as regards Turkey’s capacity to serve as a global actor. During these elections, the opposition will take on the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to gain political power after two decades of AKP rule. They will only have a chance of success if they propose a strong candidate to challenge Erdoğan.
Democracy on the Razor’s Edge: The 2022 Presidential Elections in Brazil
Brazil’s presidential elections are scheduled to take place on October 2, 2022. The confrontation between the extreme-right incumbent president Bolsonaro and the center-left former president Lula Da Silva provides a rare setting. The election places Brazil at a crossroads and will set the stage for either a comprehensive commitment to democracy under Lula or a continuation along the path to authoritarianism under Bolsonaro. Recent polls suggest that the most likely scenario is a win for Lula. Nevertheless, Brazil’s democratic institutions are continuously under attack. Currently, the possibility of the elections being preemptively cancelled or the final results being contested cannot be fully dismissed.
„Wutwinter“, heißer Herbst und Klimakrise: Ohne sozial-ökologische Vision erstarkt die extreme Rechte
Die Energiekrise stellt die Gesellschaft vor große soziale und politische Herausforderungen. Intensiv wird über den kommenden „Wutwinter“ und heißen Herbst diskutiert, während erste Proteste bereits stattfinden. Protest ist nichts Negatives und gehört zur demokratischen Willensbildung. Es gilt aber das Protestgeschehen auf den demokratischen Gehalt zu befragen und Initiativen von Links und Rechts nicht über einen Kamm zu scheren. Erneut droht, wie schon bei Pegida und den Corona-Protesten, die extreme Rechte von der gesellschaftlichen Stimmung zu profitieren. Um hier entgegenzuhalten, könnte es helfen, die Diskussionen um die Energiekrise von dem Fokus auf Russland zu lösen und umfassender im Kontext der Klimakrise zu verhandeln.
The Reconstitution of Liberal Hegemony in Comparative Regime Research: V-Dem’s Discursive Turn from the Contestation to the Decontestation of Democracy
Within just a few years, the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project has experienced a remarkable rise to both academic and political prominence. As I show in a paper that was just published open access with Contemporary Politics, this rise has been accompanied by a notable discursive shift: Having started as a project aimed at taking seriously the essential conceptual contestability of democracy, in recent years V-Dem has adopted an increasingly narrow and taken-for-granted focus on liberal democracy. This turn from the contestation to the decontestation of democracy, which responds to the perception of serious threats to democracy in general and liberal norms in particular, is not only remarkable in and of itself. In the face of the current crisis of democracy, it is also deeply problematic as it contributes to downplaying the inherent limitations of liberal democracy. The following contribution presents and summarizes the main arguments from the paper.
Eine polarisierte Stadt. Die Corona-Proteste, Demokratieverdruss und die Rolle der Lokalpolitik in Freiberg
Seit 2021 fanden im mittelsächsischen Freiberg über 60 „Spaziergänge“ gegen die Coronapolitik statt. Wie im ganzen Freistaat wurden die Proteste von den extrem rechten „Freien Sachsen“ dominiert. Auch Mandatsträger:innen von Parteien unterstützten sie. Die Kommunalpolitik reagierte nur zögerlich. Erst ein Appell der Zivilgesellschaft veränderte die Situation: Der Oberbürgermeister distanzierte sich deutlich und wurde wiedergewählt. Nun braucht es politische Antworten auf anhaltende Polarisierung und Demokratieverdruss in der Region.
Gemeinsam gegen die bösen Autokratien? Zu den Fallstricken demokratischer Allianzbildung als Pfeiler einer zukünftigen deutschen Sicherheitsstrategie
In Reaktion auf den Aufstieg Chinas und das zunehmend selbstbewusste Auftreten autoritär verfasster Staaten hat sich auch im deutschen außenpolitischen Diskurs das Bild eines neuen „Systemwettbewerbs“ verfestigt. Die Vorstellung, dass sich die Demokratien dieser Welt im Angesicht bedrohlicher Autokratien zusammenschließen müssen, hat durch den russischen Angriffskrieg auf die Ukraine weiter Nahrung erhalten. Die Bundesregierung wäre allerdings schlecht beraten, diese Idee einer Zweiteilung der Welt in gute Demokratien und schlechte Autokratien zur Grundlage ihrer Nationalen Sicherheitsstrategie zu machen.
