Ivan Krastev
Ivan Krastev
Ivan Krastev (Bulgarian: Иван Кръстев, born 1965 in Lukovit, Bulgaria, is a political scientist, the Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, permanent fellow at the IWM, Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna., and 2013-14 Richard von Weizsäcker fellow at the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Berlin...
ProfessionPublic Servant
clearly decline global influence major perceive russians shattered society
Russians clearly perceive America's global influence as being in irreversible decline and American society shattered by major political, economic and ideological crises.
america chinese controls crisis daring democracy dream europe falling form government internet love model people prison puts result west
The crisis of democracy in the West is not the result of falling in love with another system. In Europe and America people who are disillusioned with democracy do not dream about the Chinese model or any other form of authoritarian rule. They do not dream about government that controls Internet and puts in prison those daring to disagree.
For the European Union, Russia is as important politically and economically as China is to the U.S.
america argue collective critics device diverse ethnic gave groups informed melting mix national notion pot producing religious
America gave the world the notion of the melting pot - an alchemical cooking device wherein diverse ethnic and religious groups voluntarily mix together, producing a new, American identity. And while critics may argue that the melting pot is a national myth, it has tenaciously informed the America's collective imagination.
advanced alarming decline democratic less people polls trust worry
What makes me worry today is the alarming decline in the trust in democratic institutions - political parties, Parliaments, political leaders. Less and less people are going to the polls in most advanced democracies.
america outside people states united
America is a nation of immigrants, but it is also a nation of people who never emigrate. Notably, Americans living outside the United States are not called emigrants, but 'expats.'
institutions mistrust transparency
Transparency is not about restoring trust in institutions. Transparency is the politics of managing mistrust.
islamic media names
Before, revolutions used to have ideological names. They could be communist, they could be liberal, they could be fascist or Islamic. Now, the revolutions are called under the medium which is most used. You have Facebook revolutions, Twitter revolutions. The content doesn't matter anymore - the problem is the media.
motivation believe inspiration
[It's] difficult to engage people in politics when they believe that what really matters is where they personally stand.
optimistic unhappy church
The Church of TED is very optimistic. Bulgarians are some of the most pessimistic in the world. There are the Happy, the Unhappy and the Bulgarians.
real government practice
Authoritarianism is not pretending anymore to be a real alternative to democracy, but we can see many more authoritarian practices and styles basically being smuggled into democratic governments.
oil groups assets
Bulgaria has been deindustrialized by interest groups who extracted state assets like oil states extract the oil in their ground.
government people
As a rule, governments monitor people.
art democracies-have people
Democracy has always been in crisis: democracy is all about practicing the art of bearable dissatisfaction. In democratic societies, people often complain about their leaders and their institutions. The gap between the ideal democracy and the existing one cannot be bridged.