Democracies in Danger – Keeping an Eye on the Geopolitical Ball

Keeping an Eye on the Geopolitical Ball, brought to you by Jamie Shea, Senior Fellow of Friends of Europe and former NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General, provides a weekly overview of the current and emerging crises or threats in security and defence.

Using his past experience as an ex-NATO insider, his in-depth knowledge and insights gained throughout the years, Jamie casts his eye on the state of geopolitics in Europe and across the globe. He brings an independent view and essential insight into a range of conflicts and emerging threats on our shores and further afield.

Keeping an Eye on the Geopolitical Ball is essential viewing for anyone who wants to keep track of events as they unfold.

This week on Keeping an Eye on the Geopolitical Ball, Jamie Shea, Senior Fellow at Friends of Europe, discusses the latest report of the V-Dem Institute, investigating the state of democracies worldwide. The erosion of democratic norms, an increasing amount of democracies turning into autocracies and the radicalization of existing autocracies – three developments identified by the V-Dem institute that lead to the report’s conclusion that the state of the democracies on a global level is the same as in 1989. Shea argues against this conclusion, but at the same time recognizes the factors that put democracies into danger: Propaganda and lies from politicians without real consequences, disinformation in a broader sense, polarisation, and the demise of the traditional political party.