Challenging Democracy - 9th Dialogue on Science of the Academia Engelberg Foundation 2010
In his introductory presentation, Professor Hanspeter...
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Challenging Democracy - 9th Dialogue on Science of the Academia Engelberg Foundation 2010
In his introductory presentation, Professor Hanspeter Kriesi from the University of Zurich focused on the different areas of influence of economy and politics. That is why problems often arise. He stated that increasing globalization challenges basic requirements of democracy where decision-makers are approved by those who are affected by the decisions. However, this does not always apply in a globalized and increasingly interdependent world. This is also true because political integration lags behind economic integration. Decisions which are relevant to us are increasingly taken by committees and people who were not elected by us nor indirectly depend on the representatives we elected. The second part of his presentation was dedicated to the frequently discussed power of the media. From a pessimist point of view, the growing influence of media leads to spectacularization, personalization and trivialization of politics. It often occurs that politicians adapt themselves to the media in order to present themselves. The increasing diversification of media channels bears the risk that people only gather information which confirms and strengthens their own view of the world leading to a polarization of politics and all unpleasant consequences related to it. From an optimistic point of view, however, the diversity of media channels fosters dialogue between the citizens themselves and political decision-makers.
