Tamara Ehs presented her project at the AIA Colloquium, which deals with the democratic theoretical potential of cities to strengthen liberal democracy. Based on the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) known from the UN context, she plans to develop “DDGs,” i.e., democratic development goals. Since the literature repeatedly refers to an autocratic playbook that can be observed in many countries around the world, she wants to contrast this with a democratic playbook. In her theoretical framework, she draws on the concepts of democratic resilience and democratic front sliding. While factors such as party systems, the rule of law, courts, civil society, and political culture are comprehensively addressed in research, Tamara argues that the importance of the subnational level as a decisive factor should not be overlooked.

Using examples such as Gezi Park in Istanbul, Maidan in Kiev, and most recently the Pride Parade in Budapest, she highlights the democratic potential that cities in particular can offer as centers of political, economic, and cultural activity and as seats of institutions and organizations. In doing so, she focuses in particular on the role of mayors and city administrations. She also presented the initiative for a European Capital of Democracy, which is based on the European Capital of Culture initiative and on whose advisory board Tamara sits. A lively discussion ensued among the fellows, during which numerous points of connection to the fellows’ other research projects were identified. The conceptual framework of the project was discussed, as was the definition of the term “liberal society” in the context of polarization and populism.

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Tamara Ehs

Fellow AIA NRW

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