democracy

The daring attack by U.S. forces on the Venezuelan regime and the arrest of dictator Nicolás Maduro sparked a wave of controversy around the world. In Poland, reactions were fairly predictable: from enthusiastic praise of Donald Trump by circles associated with the Law and Justice party (PiS), to reflexive, often complete criticism of the U.S. president’s actions from many left-liberal groups.

The use of participatory budgeting (PB) has appeared in more and more democratically governed municipalities in recent years. According to the 2021 book “World Atlas of Participatory Budgeting,” this method is widespread primarily in Europe and secondarily in South America, in which the residents of the city can propose the use of a certain amount from the municipality’s budget.”

“When I was a child, the monarch of Liechtenstein told me: our duty is to protect people from power. If you have power, your first task is to limit the powers of the government, not to expand them.” Prince Michael of Liechtenstein said these words during a short visit to Lithuania. The guest, who was invited as a guest speaker to the 35th anniversary of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute, came as a surprise to many.

Tomio Okamura, the Czech Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, made a New Year\'s speech which is a prime example of economic populism that pretends to be \"common sense\" but is actually based on systematic simplification, confusion of terms, and false dilemmas. Underneath the appealing language of optimism and concern for \"ordinary people\" lies a set of claims that deny known facts, ignore the government\'s policy statement, and distort reality.

In 1776, three texts appeared almost simultaneously that helped define the political and moral architecture of the modern world. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense gave popular voice to the radical idea that political authority must rest on reason and consent rather than tradition. Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations provided a systematic account of how prosperity emerges from freedom, specialization, and exchange.

How to deal with the weaponization of information? What is the future (if any) of independent journalism? What does public interest information mean and why should it be protected? Have we lost the shared understanding of the world? And, if that is the case, how can we restore it? Leszek Jazdzewski talks with Patrice Schneider, Chief Strategy Officer at the Media Development Investment Fund.

How to interpret the results of the Dutch elections? What does the return of history to European affairs really mean? Is the EU a stage or an actor in the big drama of history? And what kind of Europe is emerging from Donald Trump\'s efforts to dismantle the American empire and the post-1945 world order? Leszek Jazdzewski talks with Luuk van Middelaar, the founding Director of Brussels Institute for Geopolitics.

During this year\'s Freedom Games, 4liberty.eu CEO Dan-Aria Sucuri sat down with Karolina Shapland for a timely conversation on the future of democracy, the role of liberal spaces, and the rigins force of populism.

Right-wing populism has been on the rise in Europe, and despite some exceptions, it doesn’t seem to be backing out. The group of people that seems to be most convinced by radical right-wing ideas is the youth - people aged 18 to 29. In the US, however, an unexpected change in this regard was initiated by Zohran Mamdani, currently mayor-elect of NYC. In the recent mayoral election 78% of people aged 18-29 voted for Mamdani, a democratic socialist.  

Are we witnessing the weakening of political parties? If that is the case, what are the effects of this phenomenon on democracy? Is there a market for centrist politics? Has the US turned populist? And what is the future for Argentina under President Javier Milei? Leszek Jazdzewski talks with Samuel Issacharoff, the Bonnie and Richard Reiss Professor of Constitutional Law at the NYU School of Law.