Körber History Forum Retreat 2024

Historical Thinking, Future Strategies:
Democracy in a New Geopolitical Era

From May 27 to 28 2024, the Körber History Forum Retreat took place at Lübbenau castle for the third consecutive year. Experts in history, politics, diplomacy and the media gathered in the Spreewald to discuss the profound challenges democracies are facing in an era of heightened geopolitical tensions. This year’s Retreat centred on discussions surrounding the rise of authoritarian forces and the eroding commitment to international norms.

In recent years, the number and quality of liberal democracies has declined. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the historical trend of democratic expansion is regressing. Authoritarian regimes are increasingly establishing themselves as counterweights to the Western liberal world order, employing new geopolitical strategies to expand their influence and agency.

Reflecting on the post-1945 period, this year’s Retreat focussed on the following questions: What promises have democracies and autocracies made in their domestic and foreign policy, and how have these shaped their geopolitical strategies and exercise of power? How can democracies effectively adapt their strategies to meet these challenges?

Programme:

LOOKING INWARDS: HOW CAN DEMOCRACIES DEFEND THEIR PROMISES AGAINST AUTOCRATIC CHALLENGES?

Speaker:

• Jan-Werner Müller
  Roger Williams Straus Professor of Social Sciences and Politics, Founding Director, Project in the History of Political Thought, Princeton University

• Botakoz Kassymbekova
  Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Modern History, University of Basel

LOOKING OUTWARDS: HOW DO DEMOCRACIES COUNTERACT AUTOCRACY AND REVISIONISM?

Chair:

• Beatrice de Graaf
  Professor of History of International Relations and Global Governance, Utrecht University

Speaker:

• Knut Abraham
  Diplomat and Member of the German Bundestag, Berlin

• Hal Brands
  Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins University

• Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica
  Deputy Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia

• Faisal Devji
  Professor of Indian History, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford

THE NEW GERMANY: CAN IT OVERCOME ITS RUSSIA COMPLEX?

Chair:

• Mirko Kruppa
  Head of Unit for Domestic Communication and Citizens’ Dialogues, German Federal Foreign Office, Berlin

Speaker:

• Jan-Claas Behrends
  Professor for 20^th Century History of Germany and Eastern Europe, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)

• Katja Hoyer
  Historian and Journalist; Visiting Research Fellow, King’s College London

CONFLICT IN CONTEXT: UKRAINIAN SOCIETAL DYNAMICS AND POST-1991 TRAJECTORIES

Chair:

• Joachim von Puttkamer
  Director, Imre Kertész Kolleg; Professor of East European History, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena

Speaker:

• Georgiy Kasianov
  Professor and Head of Laboratory of International Memory Studies, Maria-Curie-Skłodowska-University of Lublin

• Viktoriya Sereda
  Head Coordinator of the Virtual Ukraine Institute for Advanced Studies; Senior Fellow at the Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin

FROM COLD WAR NON-ALIGNMENT TO NEW DYNAMICS: THE GLOBAL SOUTH AND THE LIMITS FOR THE EURO-AMERICAN WEST

Chair:

• Galip Dalay
  Senior Fellow, Middle East Council on Global Affairs; Senior Consulting Fellow, Turkey Initiative, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House, London

• Faisal Devji
  Professor of Indian History, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford

Speaker:

• Adams Bodomo
  Professor of African Studies, University of Vienna

• Sunniva Engh
  Programme on Security in Asia, Norwegian Defence University College; Associate Professor of History, University of Oslo

DOES DEMOCRACY DEPEND ON GLOBALIZATION?

Chair:

• Cameron Abadi
  Deputy Editor, Foreign Policy, Berlin

Speaker:

• Robert Gerwarth
  Professor of Modern History and Founding Director, Centre for War Studies, University College Dublin

• Aparna Pande
  Research Fellow, India and South Asia, Hudson Institute, Washington DC

• Richard Ghiasy
  Senior Fellow, Leiden Asia Centre, Leiden University

In view of the worldwide increase in authoritarian regimes, the erosion of international norms and the resulting geopolitical and social challenges, it has become evident that democracies are under considerable pressure to adapt. This also involves questioning the European and Eurocentric categorisation of autocracies and democracies, which, in their previously dichotomous interpretation, are not and potentially never were universally applicable.

This highlights the urgent need for democracies to develop a new agenda and narrative that effectively counter the promises of autocracies.

Therefore, a dedicated historical understanding of the contexts in which modern democracies developed is crucial. Adapting them to changing global realities thus requires considering historical experiences alongside contemporary circumstances. The resulting analyses and considerations enable democracies to redefine and strengthen their values and thereby maintain their influence in an increasingly multipolar world.