INTERVIEWS - DEMOCRACY TALK

Democracy Talk is an interview series featuring short 10-minute interviews with a number of speakers from the Global Roundtable. New interviews will be added in advance of, and during, the Roundtable on 18-26 November.

Interview 1 Voter Suppression with Associate Professor Michael PAL

Interview 2 Technology, Inequality and Democratic Decline in Australia with Dr Shireen MORRIS & Andrew BALL

Interview 3 Constitutional Change in Chile with Associate Professor Jorge CONTESSE

Interview 4 Poland’s Protests in Context with Professor Piotr MIKULI, Associate Professor Agnieszka BIEŃ-KACAŁA & Professor Timea DRINÓCZI

Interview 5 Courts and Contested Elections in the African Context with Lecturer Ugochukwu EZEH

VOTER SUPPRESSION

Associate Professor Michael PAL (University of Ottawa)

29 October 2020

Speaking in: Webinar 1 ‘Global Challenges: Threats and Resilience’ (18 Nov.)

In this interview, Michael Pal discusses how he defines voter suppression, how the term is commonly misused, how suppression is used as a subtle way to hollow out democracy, and how remedies can be found in the law.

TECHNOLOGY, INEQUALITY & DEMOCRATIC DECLINE IN AUSTRALIA

Dr Shireen MORRIS (Macquarie Law School) & Andrew BALL (Accenture)

2 November 2020

Speaking in: Webinar 1 ‘Global Challenges: Threats and Resilience’ (18 Nov.)

In this interview, Shireen Morris and Andrew Ball discuss how technology’s impact on both our working lives and political discourse are raising questions about democratic decline in Australia, and while there’s no silver bullet, there are a range of reforms that might help.

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE IN CHILE

Associate Professor Jorge CONTESSE (Rutgers Law School)

3 November 2020

Speaking in: Webinar 3 ‘Americas: Constitutional Decay, Breakdown & Resilience’ (19 Nov.)

In this interview, Jorge Contesse discusses October’s constitutional referendum passed by a landslide 78%, why a new Constitution is needed to address the lingering legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship, and the Constitutional Court’s role in the process.

POLAND’S PROTESTS IN CONTEXT

Professor Piotr MIKULI (Jagiellonian University), Agnieszka BIEŃ-KACAŁA (Nicolaus Copernicus University) & Timea DRINÓCZI (University of Pécs)

5 November 2020

Speaking in: Webinar 8 ‘Europe: Spotlight on Poland and Hungary’ (25 Nov.)

In this interview, three speakers from Webinar 8 explain the background to the widespread current protests in Poland - the biggest in decades - including the acceleration of the PiS government’s push toward authoritarianism during 2020, the reduction of Parliament to a façade organ, and resonances with the Hungarian experience.

COURTS & CONTESTED ELECTIONS

Lecturer Ugochukwu EZEH

9 November 2020

Speaking in: Webinar 4 ‘Middle East & Africa: Constitutionalism, Corruption & Courts’ (19 Nov.)

In this interview, Ugochukwu Ezeh discusses courts as a remedy against electoral malpractices and broader patterns of arrested democratisation, especially the phenomenon of the ‘African’ presidential election petition (PEP), in states including Malawi, Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.