Democracy and the Rule of Law under Pressure: A Transatlantic Discussion

Voices on both sides of the Atlantic claim that “our democracy” is under threat. But what does that actually mean—and who gets to claim ownership of “our” democracy? If it belongs to everyone, how can democracy be used as a badge of identity by one side against another? When populist parties win elections, does that still count as “our” democracy?

These questions highlight deeper tensions: Democracy is often assumed to be based on the rule of law. But what happens when elected leaders bypass institutions through executive orders, or when US courts are attacked for blocking “the people’s will”? Similar dynamics are unfolding in Europe, where populist parties campaign on vague promises to restore power to “the people,” without ever clearly defining who that includes or by what means restoration will be achieved. At a time when faith in institutions is declining and voters are demanding sweeping solutions, can we still count on shared respect for the rule of law? More broadly, as wars in Ukraine and the Middle East expose the limits of global legal norms, how might populist political challenges to the rule of law and challenges to international law be related?

Continuing a cooperation between the American Academy in Berlin and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, these issues will be addressed by four distinguished international scholars:

American Academy Fellows Jacob S. Hacker, Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science, Yale University; and Oona Hathaway; Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law, Yale Law School; and Members of Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW) Rainer Forst, Professor of Political Theory and Philosophy, and Director, Research Center “Normative Orders,” Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main; and Dieter Grimm, Professor of Public Law, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, former Justice, Federal Constitutional Court, and former Rector, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin

Moderated by Mitchell G. Ash, Professor Emeritus of Modern History, Universität Wien; and Member of BBAW

An event in cooperation with the American Academy in Berlin.

You can register here