Classical Greece

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, stated on Wednesday that the threats against the democratic regimes have crossed the physical borders, spreading into the virtual world. "Threats to democratic regimes have exceeded physical boundaries, spreading into the virtual world.

The Turkish government is planning to discuss some "essential changes" in the country's electoral law with all political parties, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül said on June 15.

Speaking in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency, Gül said that the government is approaching all issues by thinking how the matter will affect democracy, the rule of law and the nation's common will.

Democracy is deteriorating across Central Europe and the Balkans says "Democracy after Coronavirus", the first annual trends report published on Thursday by Reporting Democracy, a cross-border journalistic platform run by BIRN, a leading regional non-profit media network.

Times like these test leaders. In a world full of fear and noise, a small group is called upon to take decisions that will determine the fate of their people. No one was elected on the basis of their program for dealing with a pandemic but their legacy will depend on how they handled this threat to all of us. Their decisions will either alleviate the damage or compound it.

Greece's politicians are behaving as if the state is powerless. As if the democratically elected government has no institutional superiority to fight the vested interests that want to assume the role of the state within the state in a variety of fields, from business to sports.

In a joint petition issued on Saturday, 100 academics at the Athens University of Economics and Business (ASOEE), which was the scene of a tense standoff between police and far-left demonstrators last Monday, called for "institutional changes and structured actions aimed at the smooth functioning and upgrading of the Greek state university."

I was lucky enough to be able to attend this year's Athens Democracy Forum held in association with The New York Times in the shadow of the Acropolis, in the "cradle of democracy." For three days I got to hear from politicians, entrepreneurs, and civil society leaders that democracy as we have come to know it is under stress.

Coming from 11 countries, our group of students from the Global Liberal Arts Alliance brought a diverse set of educational experiences and prior knowledge about democratic systems to the Athens Democracy Forum from October 9-11.

The annual Athens Democracy Forum has developed into a fixed point from which we can evaluate the health of democracy globally. Among other things, this year's meeting highlighted the need for democracy to be seen to be delivering goods to the public, and for its institutions to inspire trust and participation.

The outcome is clear; not just because there is a clear difference between the first and second party, but mainly because New Democracy will be able to form a majority government and see through its term. Its absolute majority also sends a message beyond Greece's borders that the country can return to stability.