Democracy in a multipolar political world
The new US administration has - in a way that needs no further comment - given an additional impulse to the already ongoing development in the direction of a multipolar political world based on sheer power. Under present and to be expected future circumstances, I believe any global democratic perspective can only be workable taking in account this global change.
For Europe, this results in the necessity to develop an own robust security strategy in order to protect itself and its member states as well as to further develop European democracy while leaving room for democratic self determination of and within the member states (coalition of the willing?!). Both could be an European contribution to a more peaceful and democratic world.
Unluckily, several recent experiences in democratic states have shown that democratic structures are not resilient if contested by people or groups who want to harm them. One recent example is how the division of the executive, legislative, and judicial power in the US is contested by the president and his team who seem to neglect the authority of justice („He who saves his Country does not violate any Law“). Such experiences, I believe, make it necessary also to rethink concepts of any kind of supranational government even if based on democratic elections.
Taken together, the unfolding multipolar political world and the dangers of misused democratic structures require a thorough rethinking of suitable ways to reach a peaceful and more democratic world. Obviously not knowing the answer, I assume that this will mean to go for an approach of stepwise developing democracy further on a national as on a supranational (e.g., European) level, not knowing what will be the exact outcome in the end (there will probably not be a defined end, though) but hoping to protect democratic values and to avoid severe mistakes by this approach.
RasmusTenbergen
A good contribution to the discussion!