Leonie Haiden

Amid interlinking crises and deep-running transformations—from the energy transition and trade wars to the return of great power politics and the fight to counter disinformation and regulate Big Tech—liberal democracies have struggled to formulate compelling narratives. Low levels of trust in government, overly reactive communications, and pessimistic views of the future offer fertile ground for illiberal, undemocratic, and disruptive actors to capitalize on uncertainty, position themselves as agents of change, and dominate visions of the future. 
Until recently, many European countries could rely on Cold War narratives and the post-WWII peace dividend to make the case for liberal democracy (prosperity vs. stagnation, freedom vs. control, openness vs. oppression). Yet, as new geostrategic, economic, and demographic stressors put competing, if not conflicting, budgetary and political demands on European democracies, these narratives have struggled to maintain their coherence and resonance. In the face of growing multipolarity, moral relativism, and hyper-individualism, how might liberal democracies reclaim discursive ground and reconnect with their citizenry? Bolstering the “societal resilience” that has been widely called for will depend not only on interrogating and updating liberal democracy, but also reinvigorating and celebrating it as a cause worth fighting for. In what will likely be the pivotal task for Europe, how might new political stories and metaphors help us look beyond the short term, and unify communities within the contours of a desired future?