A collaboration with The New School & the European Democracy Institute
 
Year: <span>2024</span>

Year: 2024

Voice Comes: A Declaration of the State of Affairs

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Note: This statement, written by Daeun Kim on December 7, was then circulated at Indiana University, Bloomington as an open letter under the heading “Students and Researchers for President Yoon’s Impeachment.”  The statement was quickly signed by 38 supporters, and it represents the sentiments of those signatories, and does not represent the official stance of Indiana University Bloomington or the Korean Student Association (KSA). The statement can be …

Introduction: South Korean Students Respond to the Crisis of Their Democracy

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Photo: ‘Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea signing resolution approving the Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol,’ 14 December 2024. 대한민국 국회, KOGL Type 1 , via Wikimedia Commons. Source. On the evening of Tuesday, December 3, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shocked his country and the world by declaring martial law. In a televised address, he declared that the Democratic Party, which holds a majority of seats in the …

The Courage That Grows Together

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At 9 a.m. in Bloomington, 14 hours behind Seoul, I received a message that martial law had been declared late at night and soldiers were entering the National Assembly. The news was so frightening that it felt unreal. At first, I assumed it was misinformation, much like the previous heart-wrenching disasters had initially seemed to be.  But it was real. Most Korean people spent the day and night …

What is Democracy? The Fragile and Vulnerable System That Requires Everyday Practice

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Today, I want to talk about the word democracy—a term we think we know and even believe in, but we don’t always take a moment to consider what it truly implies and what it should mean to us.  In its simplest terms, democracy can be defined as “rule by the people.” But when we look at this definition, it is quite vague.  If you were to build a …

We Have Hope. And Our Democracy Calls for Hope

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In confrontation with the democratic crisis in South Korea, I would like to talk about two forms of politics: the politics of cynicism and the politics of hope. The politics of cynicism tries to make people believe that active participation of ordinary citizens are useless, meaningless, and not effective in democratic societies. It argues that politics is work for a few elites – politicians, representatives and the so-called …

Point of No Return: Georgia’s Democratic Uprising

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Photo credit: Badri Okujava. Introduction: A Nation at the Edge Georgia stands at a pivotal moment in its modern history. Since late October this year, protests against the government’s suppression of the opposition, election rigging, and suspension of the country’s EU membership talks have evolved into nationwide outrage resisting the authoritarian regime imposed by the Georgian Dream (GD) party. Unlike previous demonstrations, such as those opposing the Russian-style …

Confronting Trump and Trumpism: 10 Observations after “The Morning After” / moving “Beyond Alarm”

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Photo: “President Donald J. Trump, joined by the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Acting Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper, watches an aircraft flyover during his remarks at the Salute to America event Thursday, July 4, 2019, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks).” The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. I am …

Why We Should Be Alarmed

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Photo: “Supporters of former President of the United States Donald Trump at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.,” Aug. 2024. Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons As the evidence that Donald J. Trump poses a mortal threat to constitutional democracy in America became stronger the political and electoral power against him became weaker. …

The Morning After

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On the morning after our catastrophic elections in 2016, I wrote an open letter to a Polish friend:  “We have to acknowledge that an enormous part of the American electorate wanted this fascist. I’ve never been especially patriotic, I’ve always felt more like a rootless cosmopolitan, but these elections have broken my heart.” At the time, eight years ago, many people felt that the description “fascist” was overly …

Uncanny Parallels between Erdoğan and Trump

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Following the 2023 general and 2024 local elections, the election frenzy in Turkey has subsided, with the next national decision point slated for 2028, when President Erdoğan’s current term will expire. Over more than two decades, Erdoğan’s rule has further weakened Turkey’s already fragile and largely undemocratic institutions. Through strategic institutional gerrymandering, Erdoğan has consolidated his power, reshaping political and legal systems to ensure his dominance. While Turkey’s …