Title:Democracy since the Fall of the Berlin Wall: a Questionable Triumph

Charles Ingrao

Charles Ingrao is Professor of History at Purdue University and has held visiting appointments at Brown, Cambridge, Chicago, Indiana and Washington. He is an expert on the history of Germany, Habsburg Central Europe and European expansion across the globe. Since 1995 his work has focused primarily on ethnic coexistence and conflict in modern central and eastern Europe, during which time he has made over fifty transatlantic trips to the Balkans, presented more than a hundred public lectures and seminars to university, governmental and military audiences across Europe and North America, and been a regular commentator for print, radio and television media, including The News Hour with Jim Lehrer (PBS), Voice of America, BBC, NPR, and The New York Times.

Abstract

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Western pundits have hailed the triumph of democracy. During the same quarter century, however, there were also a succession of failed states, ruthless demagogues, civil wars, and regional conflicts. What went wrong? What explains the chaos in many parts of the world today? Professor Ingrao contends that the answers can be found in the misapplication of two institutions.

Language:English

Date:Friday October 16th 2015 19:00

Location:Room320 Nanguang 1