Mapping Democracy - Event Series on the Prospects of Democracy - Magazine

Egypt's Future following the Election of Mohammed Mursi. Have No Fear, Democracy is Here!

In this essay, leading Egyptian youth activist Ziyad al-Alimi argues that millions of Egyptians only voted for Mohammed Mursi to prevent a return to the Mubarak system. He says that instead of viewing it as a setback, the election result should be seen as marking the start of a democratic breakthrough.More ...

Tarek Eltayeb (Austria/Egypt, left) and Saif Ar-Rahbi (Oman) at the conference on Arab literature in exile which took place in Kuwait in March 2012. Photo: Stefan Weidner © Goethe-Institut

Exile That Enriches
The Cultural Achievements of Iranian and Arab Authors in Germany

Since the 1970s Germany has increasingly become the destination of choice for emigrés from the Arab world and Iran. Many of them stayed in Germany and have contributed equally to cultural life in Germany and in their home countries. By Stefan WeidnerMore ...

“Democracy Is the Solution”

A selection of columns published before the revolution by celebrated Egyptian writer Alaa al-Aswani show that even if the West was turning a blind eye to imminent political change in Egypt, many writers and intellectuals were making clear predictions of the seismic eruptions to come.More ...

“Fairly Old Hat” – An Interview with Wolfgang Kraushaar on a New Culture of Protest

Some 30 years after the last large-scale demonstrations against the nuclear power and the arms race, people are taking to the streets again.More ...

A Revolution in Suspense

According to the Islamic intellectual Tariq Ramadan, the revolutions in the Arab world are either unfinished or have not yet reached their goals. Ceyda Nurtsch spoke to him and asked him about the prospects for the popular uprisings and the nature of the protest movementsMore ...

Goethe-Institut Kairo; © Goethe-Institut Kairo

Creative Artists Are the Motor for Change

Creative artists in Arab countries are playing a key role in the revolutionary process. But their efforts are being hampered by poor infrastructure. This is where international cultural work can help, says Günther Hasenkamp, Programme Director at the Goethe-Institut in Cairo.More ...

Paradoxes of Capitalist Modernisation – An Interview with Axel Honneth

Does capitalism really make man free? Or does lack of freedom only feel better under capitalism?More ...

“We are relying on principles that have been practised for the last 40 years” – An Interview with Joseph Vogl

The financial and sovereign debt crisis has triggered global protest against the “dictates of the markets”.More ...

Acceleration without limit? © iStockphoto

The Financial Crisis as a Speeding Accident – An Interview with Hartmut Rosa

Constant acceleration is increasingly a problem for man and society. The financial crisis too, according to Hartmut Rosa, is above all a “speeding accident”.More ...

The New York Stock Exchange; © Colourbox

The “Buddenbrook Effect”: The Financial Crisis from the Sociological Point of View

The economic crisis is also, and perhaps especially, a social crisis, and so a case for sociological analysis.More ...

Lobby Control – An Initiative for Transparency and Democracy

A club in Cologne is monitoring lobbying activities in Berlin and Brussels. It advocates more transparency and democracy.More ...

“The Time Is Ripe for An Unconditional Basic Income” – An Interview With Entrepreneur Götz W. Werner

An interview with the successful entrepreneur and anthroposophist, Götz W. Werner, who is one of Germany’s leading advocates of the basic income.More ...

At a Crossroads and In the Crosshairs: Technology & the Future of Democracy

Today we sit at a critical juncture in technology and telecommunications history - a time when utopian and dystopian trajectories are both possible, and when our thoughts and actions will shape the very future of participatory democracy. A contribution by Sascha Meinrath and Tim MaurerMore ...

Café con Leche - Building participatory democracy from the ground-up

The documentary filmmaker Ellie Walton tells about the social boundaries in her home town Washington D.C. Walton works on a participatory approach of filmmaking. With cinematic means political outsiders draw attention to their own situation.More ...

The Contemporary Agony of Western Democracy

In his guest contribution the american sociologist Norman Birnbaum criticizes the glorified picture of liberal democracy. He calls for new ways of reflected participation. He especially bears in mind the groups which do not possess capital and social ressources to define the terms of public discussion.More ...

Towards A More Vital Civil Society – An Interview With Otfried Höffe

The philosopher and political theorist, Otfried Höffe, on the viability of democracy in the future.More ...

Playing elections in Afghanistan. Photo: Martin Gerner © Goethe-Institut

Cosmopolitanism and Democracy
From Kant to Habermas

Cosmopolitanism acknowledges that humans are moral persons who have a right to be protected under the law because of the rights they enjoy by virtue of the fact of their humanity. By Seyla BenhabibMore ...

More Democratic Thanks to the Internet? Assessments by Thorsten Quandt

Thanks to the Internet anyone can speak his mind and share his knowledge. The communications expert Thorsten Quandt explains what this means for democracy and society.More ...

Is the Age of Political Utopias Past? – Three Questions for Richard Saage

Thinking in alternatives is part of the inalienable core of the European intellectual tradition, says Germany’s leading utopia researcher utopia researcher.More ...

Article 1 Sentence 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany at the regional court builiding in the city of Frankfurt/Main; (CC) Dontworry

Jürgen Habermas’s “Concept of Human Dignity and the Realistic Utopia of Human Rights”

Human dignity is not a product of human rights, but is rather the basis of their normative validity.More ...

Risking More Democracy – The European Citizens’ Initiative

The European Citizens’ Initiative, as stipulated in the Treaty of Lisbon, is a little step towards more direct democracy.More ...

Europe’s Role in the World of Tomorrow – An Interview with Karsten Voigt

In the heavy turbulences of the global economic and financial crisis, and after the change of power in the USA, the world of states is re-arranging itself. An interview with the Coordinator for German-American Cooperation in the German Foreign Office, Karsten Voigt (SPD).More ...

The Freedom Of The Press – The Fourth Estate, Guarantor Of Democracy And Forum For The Exchange Of Opinions

It is only missed when it's gone. Without it, democracy cannot function.More ...

Residents of Baghdad go to the polis. Photo: Majid/Getty Images © Goethe-Institut

What Is a Democrat?
An Attempt to Define the Democratic Personality

It is extremely difficult to define exactly what makes a democratic person. In order to develop democratic ideas, people first need the freedom to be able to imagine political alternatives. By Reginald GrünenbergMore ...

Ulrich Beck: “Those Who Play the National Card Lose”

Interview with Professor Ulrich Beck of the Institute for Sociology at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, on national fallacies, false alternatives and a rebellion of reality called cosmopolitanism.More ...

“The central democratic capacity is the power of judgement“ – Oskar Negt on Democracy as a Form of Life

In his book Oskar Negt breaks a lance for political education.More ...

"Technically Speaking, Big Brother Can See into every Last Corner of our Lives."

The fight against international terrorism and the growing technical capabilities for monitoring flows of goods and information are threatening to undermine our right to privacy. We discussed the matter with Peter Schaar, Germany's Federal Commissioner for Data Protection.More ...

Thomas Saretzki; © Leuphana Universität Lüneburg

“De-Democratization Is No Solution” – An Interview With Thomas Saretzki

The ecological crisis is plunging the constitutional democracy into a growing legitimacy crisis – but this should not be seen as grounds for authoritarian mind games.More ...

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