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
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.
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.'
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.
believe games people
Democracy is the only game in town. The problem is [when] people start to believe that it is not a game worth playing.
depends european joining nature preserving russia stability
True, Putin's Russia does not dream of joining the E.U., but Russia's stability depends on preserving the European nature of its regime.
Any unveiling is also veiling. No matter how transparent our governments want to be, governments will be selectively transparent.
america
America is militarily overstretched, politically polarized and financially indebted.
means regimes
Regimes like the one in Russia are stabilized by the fact that they have no ideology. There is really no ideological means to attack them.
cannot full reduced truth
Living in truth cannot be reduced to having access to full information.
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The United States and Russia probably do not have common aims and dreams, but they have common worries: Both Washington and Moscow are concerned about the rise of China and are threatened by the rise of radical Islam.
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Remember, until the 1970s, the spread of democracy has always been accompanied by the decline of inequality. The more democratic our societies have been, the more equal they have been becoming. Now we have the reverse tendency. The spread of democracy now is very much accompanied by the increase in inequality.
change confront daring leads personal risks speak truth ultimately
It is people's willingness to take personal risks and confront the powerful by daring to speak the truth, not the truth itself, that ultimately leads to change.