A farewell essay by Jacob Riemer, Second Executive Director of Austausch e.V.

As the West’s liberal order falters, Europe faces a choice: retreat into self-doubt or redefine democracy for a more plural world.

The Shifting Geography of Democracy

The intellectual and structural geography of democracy is changing. For decades, it was oriented toward the United States – anchored in the moral and political authority of a democratic superpower, in an idea of freedom centered on individual self-realization, the rule of law, and the power of markets. This model shaped the West, provided direction, and conveyed a sense of agency. Yet in recent years, the liberal order of American design has lost much of its appeal – not through a sudden rupture, but through the gradual erosion of trust in its global leadership and in the integrity of the values it proclaims.

At first glance, this seems a challenge for those committed to an open and democratic Europe within an open and democratic world of the twenty-first century. But it also holds an opportunity. Europe can – and must – understand itself as an autonomous democratic center of gravity: a union of democracies that re-connect freedom and social justice, viewing political participation not merely as a right of resistance but as a shared right of co-creation.

Europe’s Distinct Democratic Legacy

In the European tradition – from the Council of Europe’s Social Charter to the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights – the dignity of the individual is more closely intertwined with economic and social participation than in other democratic traditions. This link, often mistrusted in the American discourse as “socialist,” could today become Europe’s defining contribution to a renewed democratic idea.

But the future of democracy will not be determined in any single place. It will emerge from the ability to connect diverse cultural and historical sources of freedom, dignity, and equality across continents. Democracy – or, more broadly, liberty – has never been an exclusively Western project. In that realization lies the wellspring of a democratic movement for the twenty-first century.

Democracy Beyond the West

Examples abound. In South Korea, civic vigilance protected democracy from authoritarian regression in 2016 and again in 2025. In Taiwan, a new generation builds its identity as both individuals and as a nation upon the idea of democratic self-determination in defiance of a revisionist, expansionist mainland China.India – for all its tensions – continues to embody a multilingual and religiously plural democracy. In Botswana, the traditional Kgotla assemblies sustain local participation and consensus-building, while Kenya remains – despite recurring crises – a democratic anchor in East Africa. And within the egalitarian traditions of nomadic societies across North Africa and Central Asia, deliberative practices have long defined power as social responsibility and freedom as a shared good.

Together, these examples reveal a simple truth: there is not one path to democracy and liberty.

From Relativism to Legitimacy

A renewed global democracy movement can only emerge if it recognizes this diversity as a resource and makes it visible. This is not a matter of relativism but of legitimacy. Democracy becomes more convincing when it ceases to present itself as a Western export and instead as a shared human heritage of individual and collective striving for freedom.

Therein lies strategic wisdom. By releasing the idea of democracy from the narrow confines of “Western values,” we strengthen its global relevance and deprive authoritarian regimes of the anti-Western rhetoric that sustains them. A radically plural understanding of democracy opens new spaces for cooperation – without denying cultural identity. In doing so, it dismantles the ideology of so called “traditional values,” which negates local cultures of freedom to justify authoritarian rule.

Plural Liberty and Shared Goals

Plural liberty speaks the language of shared goals – dignity, security, and participation – anchoring them in local convictions and traditions.It no longer leaves the interpretation of freedom to those who abuse it for the sake of power.Thus, it provides a credible foundation for rearticulating a universal idea and practice of freedom.

Out of the crisis of the West may grow the beginning of a renewed and globally connected movement for freedom – a democratic movement that can once again credibly promise what millions of young people, from Kathmandu to Casablanca, from Nairobi to Antananarivo, demand today: a life of dignity, participation, and material security.

The future of democracy no longer lies in the West alone – this has long been apparent and should now be recognized with full clarity. Its energy arises wherever people raise their voices, assume responsibility, and turn power into accountability – in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Ukraine and the European Home

The people of Ukraine embody what charisma the democratic idea can still command in the twenty-first century. Their struggle for national self-determination is inseparable from the defense of the democracy they have won through sacrifice and resilience.

Here, too, lies the mission of an organization like Austausch e.V. Since its founding, it has been driven by the conviction that European civil society is more than the sum of national experiences – and that it is worth making our common European home a place of democracy and of the countless individual aspirations for dignity, freedom, and opportunity.Our task is to help ensure that this home withstands the pressure of authoritarian power while keeping its doors and windows open to its neighbors.

Europe need not become a fortress to remain democratic. It can be a house that withstands the storm because its foundations are firm – and its doors are well protected but remain open.

And one truth endures: The future of our shared European home will be decided in Ukraine – in its ongoing struggle for freedom. To support that struggle is our obligation.