Second Vogt Lecture on the Political Effects of the Economic Crisis in Europe

May 26, 2016

responsiveness rule of law

International IDEA and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have co-organized the second installment in the Margaret Vogt Memorial Lecture series to happen today, 26 May 2016, at UN Headquarters. The lecture, entitled “What is the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Democracy? Evidence from Europe” will be given by Leonardo Morlino, Professor of Political Science at the Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (LUISS) Guido Carli.

The main question this lecture seeks to answer is how the 2008–2014 economic crisis in Europe affected political participation and competition with respect to political parties as well as other modes of expression like social movements. While there have been several informative accounts on the economic crisis’s effect on political systems, there has yet to be a systematic approach from throughout the continent. This lecture will use a ‘quality of democracy’ framework to assess the many facets of democratic institutions across the European context, including rule of law, participation, and responsiveness, among others.

This lecture follows the inaugural lecture in the series by Thomas Carothers at the beginning of May, who spoke on “Democracy’s Uncertain State”. The series is organized by the UN Executive Committee on Peace and Security’s Working Group on Democracy and is organized in honor of Margaret Vogt, who had 40 years of experience working on human rights, security and democracy in Africa.

Pedro Conceição, Director of the Strategic Policy Unit, BPPS/UNDP, will provide an introduction, and Massimo Tommasoli, Permanent Observer for International IDEA to the UN, will moderate the post-lecture discussion.

The event will be webcast live at 13:15 EST on the UN’s website athttp://www.webtv.un.org. For more information, contact Stephen Graf atS.Graph.