Photo: David Ausserhofer

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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?

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.

Programme

Monday, 27 May

16:30 – 18:00
Welcome Reception

18:00 – 18:10
Welcome Remarks

By Dr. Thomas Paulsen, Member of the Executive Board, Körber-Stiftung

18:10 – 19:15
Looking Inwards: How can Democracies Defend Their Promises Against Autocratic Challenges?

By Jan-Werner Müller, Founding Director of the project in the History of Political Thought at Princeton University, and by Botakiz Kassymbekova, Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Basel. Followed by a moderated discussion with Gabriele Woidelko, Head of Department History and Politics, Körber-Stiftung

19:15 – 21:30
Festive Dinner

Tuesday, 28 May

09:00 – 10:15
History & Politics Roundtable I – Round 1
Looking Outwards: How do Democracies Counteract Autocracy and Revisionism?

Chaired by Beatrice de Graaf, Professor of History of International Relations and Global Governance at Utrecht University. Inputs by Knut Abraham, Diplomat and Member of the German Bundestag, and by Hal Brands, Henry, A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopking University in Washington DC

10:15 – 10:30
Break

10:30 – 11:45
History & Politics Roundtable I – Round 2
Looking Outwards: How do Democracies Counteract Autocracy and Revisionism?

Inputs by Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, and by Faisal Devji, Professor of Indian History an St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford

11:45 – 12:15
Break

12:15 – 13:00
Parallel Deep Dives – Round 1

  1. The New Germany: Can it Overcome its Russia Complex? Chaired by Mirko Kruppa, Head of Unit for Domestic Communication and Citizens’ Dialogues, German Federal Office. Input by Jan-Claas Behrends, Professor for the 20th Century History of Germany and Eastern Europe at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder)
  2. Conflict in Context: Ukrainian Societal Dynamics and Post-1991 Trajectories. Chaired by Joachim von Puttkamer, Director of the Imre Kertész Kolleg and Profesor of East European History at the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena. Input by Georgiy Kasianov, Professor and Head of Laboratory of International Memory Studies at the Marie-Curie-Skłodowska-University of Lublin
  3. From Cold War Non-Alignment to new Dynamics: The Global South and the Limits for the Euro-American West. Chaired by Faisal Devji and Galip Dalay, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and Senior Consulting Fellow at the Turkey Initiative, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Clatham House. Input by Adams Bodomo, Professor of African studies at the University of Vienna

13:00 – 14:30
Break

14:30 – 15:15
Parallel Deep Dives – Round 2

  1. The New Germany: Can it Overcome its Russia Complex? Chaired by Mirko Kruppa and input by Katja Hoyer, Historian, Journalist and Visiting Research fellow at King’s College London
  2. Conflict in Context: Ukrainian Societal Dynamics and Post-1991 Trajectories. Chaired by Joachim von Puttkamer and input by Viktoriya Sereda, Head Coordinator of the Virtual Ukraine Institute for Advanves Studies and senior fellow at the Forum Transregionale Studien in Berlin
  3. From Cold War Non-Alignment to new Dynamics: The Global South and the Limits for the Euro-American West. Chaired by Galip Dalay and Faisal Davji, input by Sunniva Engh, programme on security in Asia at the Norwegian Defence College and Associate Professor of History at the University of Oslo

15:15 – 15:45
Break

15:45 – 17:30
History & Politics Roundtable II
Does Democracy Depend on Globalization?

Chaired by Cameron Abadi, Deputy Editor at Foreign Policy in Berlin and by Robert Gerwarth, Professor of Modern History and founding director of the Centre for War Studeies at the University College Dublin. Input by Richard Ghiasy, Senior Fellow at the Leiden Asia Centre at Leiden University, and by Aparna Pande, Research Fellow onIndia and South Asia at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC

17:30 – 17:35
Closing Remarks

Impressions

  • Photos: David Ausserhofer