“Democracy under pressure” - this was the topic of the first BUA Open Space of the Berlin University Alliance on May 6 in the Senate Hall of Humboldt University. The evening was also the launch of the campaign THE OPEN LAB - FOR THE GREAT TRANSFORMATIONS OF OUR TIME.
What strategies against populism are there for democratic parties? Prof. Heike Klüver (HU Berlin, Scripts Cluster of Excellence) reported on her research: "Populist parties often stylize themselves as the true voice of the people. However, it is possible to reveal that their policies are primarily self-serving and thus disenchant the parties. Another successful strategy is to deliberately focus on issues on which sympathizers of populist parties disagree with the party."
What about the integrity of elections in times of rising populism? The answer from Prof. Thorsten Faas (FU Berlin): "We have actors who question the central instrument of democracy - namely elections. But in Germany in particular, elections have some of the highest integrity in the world". And even if the Berlin election of 2021 subjectively left a different impression: the functioning repeat election has restored confidence in the electoral system.