Professor Dr Giovanni Capoccia participates in conference on Europe’s democratic future

DPIR’s Professor of Comparative Politics Dr Giovanni Capoccia has taken part in a three-day conference on the future of democracy in Europe entitled ‘Under pressure – how does the EU stand up to populism, extremism and nationalism?’.

The 26th International WDR Europaforum 2024 was held in Berlin and included involvement from among others, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyden, the German vice-Chancellor (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for the Economy Robert Habeck, the German ex-President of the Republic Joachim Gauck.

The event – which was broadcast live on German national television channel WDR Fernsehen - also featured contributions from several national journalists and academics.

Professor Dr Capoccia’s panel discussion, moderated by TV journalist Georg Restle (Das Erste), was on the subject of ‘Commonality and diversity of populist and extremist movements in Europe’ and also featured Dr Agnieszka Łada-Konefał - Political scientist, Deputy Director of the German Poland Institute and Natascha Strobl - Political scientist, right-wing extremism expert, Vienna.

The political conference took place this year for the first time as part of the digital and social conference re:publica in Berlin.

Professor Dr Capoccia said: “This year’s WDR-Europaforum focused on how the EU can stand up to populist and nationalist forces that want to destroy it, and that, in some cases, endanger liberal democracy. Bringing together politicians, journalists, civil society organizations, and academics to publicly discuss these issues in Germany, where the Eurosceptic extreme right rides high in the polls, the WDR-Europaforum plays a crucial role in making the wider public aware of the extremely high stakes of the upcoming European elections”.