On the EDP wire, we post and discuss a range of issues that emanate from our research and that are important to us. Here you will find – in English or German – opinion pieces, book reviews, conference reports, and important announcements. Are you interested in becoming a guest contributor? Get in contact with us!

Most Recent EDP WIRE Posts

December 4, 2023 | EDP Wire | Julia Leininger

No Sellout of Democracy

Bonn, 13 September 2023. The G20 summit showcased that democracies and autocracies need to cooperate with each other. “Standing up for democracy and cooperating with autocrats – is that possible?” asks Julia Leininger in the Current Column. This EDP Wire …

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June 26, 2023 | EDP Wire | Rebecca Wagner

The Republic of Kyrgyzstan in a Process of Autocratization: Steinmeier’s Visit to Central Asia in the Context of National Processes and the German National Security Strategy

Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier is on a official trip through Central Asia, where he is not only visiting Kazakhstan but also the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Against the backdrop of far-reaching restrictions against civil society and human rights activists, this …

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September 6, 2022 | EDP Wire | Jonas Wolff

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 Jonas Wolff shows in his 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.

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September 6, 2022 | EDP Wire | Pascal Abb, Hanna Pfeifer, Jonas Wolff

Together Against Evil Autocracies? On The Pitfalls Of Basing Germany’s Security Strategy On Democratic Alliance-Building

Owing to China’s rise and the increasingly assertive behaviour of authoritarian states, the theme of a new “systemic competition” has become prominent in German foreign policy discourse. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has further boosted the idea that the world’s democracies must join forces in the face of menacing autocracies. Jonas Wolff, Pascal Abb, and Hanna Pfeifer analyze the pitfalls of such a dichotomy.

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August 6, 2022 | EDP Wire | Jonas Wolff, Pascal Abb, Hanna Pfeifer

Gemeinsam gegen die bösen Autokratien? Zu den Fallstricken demokratischer Allianzbildung als Pfeiler einer zukünftigen deutschen Sicherheitsstrategie

In Reaktion auf 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. Jonas Wolff, Pascal Abb und Hanna Pfeifer analysieren die Problematik einer solchen Dichotomie.

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May 11, 2022 | EDP Wire | Benjamin Schütze

Why “Democracy Promotion” should play no role in a values-based German foreign policy in the MENA region

Despite considerable efforts and financial investments in the MENA region by Germany and other European states, as well as high support for democracy in Arab states, political systems in the MENA region remain authoritarian. Benjamin Schuetze discusses the connection of these phenomena and suggests how meaningful German support in the MENA region could look like.

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March 26, 2022 | EDP Wire | Jonas Wolff

German Democracy Promotion: Change of Course under the Traffic Light Coalition?

A few months after the so-called traffic light coalition has taken office, Jonas Wolff discusses the apparent reorientation of German international democracy promotion by presenting different approaches to democracy promotion and comparing the previous developmental approach to the new political approach, as outlined in the coalition agreement.

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January 24, 2022 | EDP Wire | Julia Leininger, Daniel Nowack

Protecting Democracy: The Relevance of International Democracy Promotion for Term Limits

The question of whether and how democracy can be promoted and protected through international support has recently gained relevance. On the one hand, the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan has reignited a public debate on the limits of democracy promotion. On the other hand, the need for international democracy protection is growing due to an increase in autocratisation trends worldwide. DIE research shows that it is possible to effectively support and protect democracy.

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