global governance

Exploring European Citizenship and Values at the Supranational Democracy Dialogue

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

With every spring, since 2018, comes a new edition of the Supranational Democracy Dialogue, an event of its kind bringing together academicians, civil society leaders, international officials and thinkers to discuss democratic solutions to issues bigger than States: European and Global. The seventh edition will be in Brindisi (Italy) on April 29-30.

This year it is different. I would love to say that every year is different, but this time it is more. We swim against the stream. We imagine new democratic spaces while the existing ones are falling apart.

Is this a crisis of the existing world to open up opportunities for a new one to emerge? Or is this just a giant step back in the progression we call progress? The hope is for the former, the gut feeling (let’s call it fear), is for the latter.

This could be the reason for a seventh edition exceptionally crowded and high-profile: we fear to lose what democracy we have, while discussing how to improve it. We are motivated to defend the very idea that we need democracy and an international space where dialogue is the rule and not the exception. It is time to show up and stand up for what we really believe in. So many illustrious colleagues and interesting contributors applied to join us in Brindisi (Italy), for a seventh edition focused on citizenship and values. And many young people showed an interest in attending, I suppose for the same reason.

This is the program. Whoever wishes to join is warmly invited to do so. It is for free, but we just need a registration. Alternatively, you can follow via streaming. A second, long due, novelty is that a new Association has been born. The Association for Supranational Democracy aims to build on the existing platform of committed individuals who support the event in many ways, locally as well as on a global level. It is open for applications at info@supranationaldemocracy.net.

Graphic promoting the VII Supranational Democracy Dialogue event on April 29-30, 2025, emphasizing the theme 'EU as a lab in a changing world. Citizenship, values and the response to global challenges'. Features vibrant colors and abstract design.

Brindisi, Sala Conferenze dell’Autorità Portuale, April 29-30, 2025

APRIL 29, 2025 – Europe

I. – European Citizenship, Identity and Values

10,00 – Institutional Greetings

10,30 – First Panel

Chair: Susanna Cafaro

Keynote Speech

Domènec Ruiz Devesa, Union of European Federalists – Europe at a Turning Point

Maaike Geuens, Open University of the Netherlands – Constitutional Identity, Democratic Disconnect, EU institutions, Sovereignty, and Integration

Jean-Christophe Barbato, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne – Academic Freedom and Democracy in European Union Law

Francesca Salvatore and Antonio Caso, Atlantic-Mediterranean Relations Study Center (CESRAM, Lecce) – Public History as a Strategic Resource for European Citizenship, Identity, and Values

Fabienne Péraldi Leneuf, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne – The Independence of the Judiciary as an Aspect of Respect for the Rule of Law: Exporting the European Model

Esra Akgemci, Selcuk University (Turkey) – Rethinking the EU’s Role in Promoting Peace, Human Rights, and Democracy Amid Anti-Gender Politics and Right-Wing Populism

Sara Poli, Università di Pisa – Citizenship by Investment Programs: Constraints and Conditions Imposed by Treaty Provisions on the European Citizenship and on CFSP

Bledar Kurti, University “Aleksandër Moisiu” Durres – Today’s Challenges of European Citizenship, Identity and Values

13,30 – Light Lunch

II. – The European Union in a Changing World

14,30 – Second Panel

Chair: Claudia Morini

Expert Speech

Antonio Parenti, European Commission – The EU’s Preparedness in Crises: a New Paradigm?

Ana Bojinović Fenko and Julija Brsakoska Bazerkoska, Ljubjana University – European Union’s Contributions in Addressing the Challenges of the Changing World Order: Analysis of EU’s Actorness in the Fields of Conflict Resolution, Digital Sovereignty and Trade

Ingrid Kiessling R., Gabriela Mistral University (Chile) – The Strategic Alliance between the European Union and Latin America: Protection of Democracy and Human Rights in the Context of Global Instability

Eirikur Bergmann, Bifrost University (Iceland) – Europe’s Security Architecture in an Age of Transactional Diplomacy

15,30 – Coffee Break

Mohamed Shokry, Università del Salento – The European Union’s Migration Governance as a Laboratory in a Changing World

Oleksiy Kandyuk, University of Konstanz – Transatlantic Shift, Strategic Autonomy and Ukraine

Catherine Vieilledent, UEF Group Europe – The Role of the EU in a Post Multilateral World

Expert Speech

Maria D’Aprile & Co., UNGSC Brindisi – UNGSC as a Lab of the UN 2.0

18,00 – Open Debate

APRIL 30, 2025 – World

III. – Values and Tools for a New World Order

10,00 – Institutional Greetings

Fabio Pollice, Rector of Università del Salento

10,15 – First Panel

Chair: Silvia Solidoro

Keynote Speech

Jan Wouters, Leuven University – Europe and the World: Adapting to a Changing Landscape

Jeffrey Glausiusz, Pax Orbis (Israel) – Time to Rebuild

Brian T. Schmitt, CY Cergy Paris University – Democracy as a Set of Normative Social Relationships: the IAPD Framework

Wolfgang Pape, Center for United Nations Constitutional Research (Brussels) – Interpopularity Beyond National Borders

Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, newDemocracy Foundation (Australia) – An Antidote to Identity Politics and Nationalistic Rhetoric

Inspirational Talk

Joe Weston, Author (US-Netherlands) – Fierce Civility. A Practical Pathway to Transformational Governance

13,00 – Light Lunch

IV – A World in Transition

14,00 – Second Panel

Chair: Saverio Di Benedetto

Sérgio Barbosa Dos Santos Silva, Université de Gènève – On the Rise of AI Literacies

Nadia Perrone, Engineering – Ingegneria Informatica (Lecce) – The EU AI Act: How the European Union Fosters the Artificial Intelligence Development while Addressing its Ethical and Legal Implications

Troy Davis, World Citizen Foundation (Strasbourg) – The Schuman Method Applied to Global Climate Change: the World Carbon Community

Stefania Attolini, Université Catholique de Lyon – AI for the Environment: Earth Monitoring Evolutions and Legal Issues

Gabriele Rogoli, Università Del Salento – EU Leaders 2030. The New Paradigm of the Green and Digital Transition

Benedetto Rollo, Università del Salento – “Feel Free to Vent Your Fury Here”. How Corporations Use Online Activism to Influence Policymaking

Concluding Remarks

Susanna Cafaro, Università del Salento

16,00 – Coffee Break

16,30 – The Discussion Corner

  1. EU Culture and Values: Raising Awareness – Facilitators: Andrea Rubino, Jacopo Lillo and Elisabetta Marzo
  2. EU Strategic Autonomy and Defense: Narratives and Public Opinions – Facilitators: Francesco Spera, Fabiana Magnolo and Matteo Fulgenzi
  3. Defining and Countering Disinformation Industry – Facilitators: Laurids Hempel and Polina Zavershinskaia

17,30 – Open Assembly of the Association for Supranational Democracy

Scientific Committee: Susanna Cafaro, Saverio Di Benedetto, Claudia Morini, Martí Grau Segú, Valerie Saintot, Silvia Solidoro, Francesco Spera

Organizing Committee: Francesco Viggiani, Elisabetta Marzo, Isabella Salsano, Jacopo Lillo, Fabiana Magnolo

Partners: Association for Supranational Democracy, Jean Monnet House- European Parliament, Democracy and Culture Foundation, Union of European Federalists; Democracy without Borders, G100 Global Networking, the Democracy School, Robert Triffin International Foundation, CESUE, Euractiv.it, the Streit Council for a Union of Democracies, Athena – Critical Inquiries in Law, Philosophy and Globalization, Italian Association of Scholars of European law (AISDUE); Jean Monnet Chairs and Modules at Università del Salento

Streaming: https://bit.ly/supranationaldemocracy2025

In Defence of International Law

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

We will remember President Trump’s first speech – content, tone, setting, attendants – as a watershed in global history. For good or for bad, some moments are.

For us Europeans, it was a watershed in foreign and security policy and trade policy, but that’s the least of it. For each of us – on a more personal level – it was the end of a certainty dating back to WWII, the feeling of having the US backing us.

I don’t use these words lightly. As a Western European grown up during the Cold War, I was grateful for being a citizen in an (almost) democratic state, backed by an (almost ) democratic superpower. As a law professor and critical thinker, I don’t speak by absolutes.

Yet, as a teenager, I knew I could move freely in my half of the globe, access many different sources of information, express my dissent, and choose my path. These are not freedoms I take for granted, not anymore. Not when I see so many democratic recessions around.

President Trump was entirely within his rights when he declared that he would step back from the war in Ukraine and stop supporting that country. There was nothing wrong in stating a wish to promote peace. Yet, choosing to ignore that one is the aggressor and the other is the aggressed is a choice of field. Bullying the latter is a choice of field. Impartiality and love for peace have nothing to do with these choices.

He was far less in his rights when he expressed on several occasions territorial claims – to be enforced by force or by money – or the wish, immediately acknowledged, to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The American Gulf Stream is just a step away.

He was clearly outside any right or rule when he had the creative idea of imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (yes, it could not be more official). He manifested his support to the victim of the prosecution of the ICC, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, with a gift of 4 billion in weapons, while the said Prime Minister is responsible for a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. Another peace-loving gesture.

A red thread connects all these positions, and other ones, such as threatening and negotiating a considerable rise in customs duties outside the World Trade Organization or withdrawing from multilateral organizations.

The attack is not on (or not just) Canada, Mexico, Greenland or the ICC; it is on the world order and international law as we know it.

The most sacred and precious rules of international law are the respect of borders and the prohibition of using force, also known as the principle of non-aggression. Both are written in the United Nations Charter and considered customary rules of international law, so necessary that they constitute its core of jus cogens.

Accepting the fact that Russia may well invade Ukraine and claim a part of it as a result, that Israel may annihilate the population of the Gaza Strip with bombs and starvation, that a state may appropriate another or buy another as it is convenient, means demolishing from the foundations every expectation of peace among any state in the world.

A 100 years step back in history.

Many people say that international law is ineffective, and many criticize the (often seen) double standards when some are sanctioned while others are not. Yet, no one has ever, until now, stated that a world without rules would be better. And many are at work daily to make the existing ones more effective.

A common criticism is that international law (just like any law) is for the weak, while the strong tend to ignore it. It is a precious truth. Law is for the vulnerable ones, for the minorities, and for the victim. It is the hope of justice, sometimes fulfilled, sometimes not. It is even more so in a community of not equals like the international community.

The European Union is an association of small and not-so-small states. Yet, none of them is big or big enough to navigate a world without law, and together, they are just 6% of the world’s population even if they produce the third GDP after (and close to) US and China. We are small, and we know it.

The Union has in its mandate the defence of international law. It is in article 21.1 of the Treaty establishing the European Union (TEU):

“The Union’s action on the international scene shall be guided by the principles which have
inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.”

If peace among its members is the structural goal of the Union, law – inside and outside of its territory – is its only hope for success. Our only hope. Our attempts at building a common defence policy are due and understandable, yet they will never be as successful as our rule of law.

When President Trump gave his inauguration speech, the big corporates’ CEOs and Silicon Valley gurus were with him. They are as powerful – and even more – and seem aligned on the same goal. Destroying international law seems to us a short-sighted and dystopian goal. The advantage of being free riders in a lawless world may bring benefits to the strong ones in the short term, but it is – cannot not be – an existential threat for all, even for them.

On a lighter note, I asked Chat GPT to produce a picture for “Defending International Law”, I was answered with a denial: “your request likely didn’t align with the content policy due to themes related to political and governmental symbolism in a way that could be interpreted as advocating for real-world organizations, movements, or ideologies.”

International law qualified as an ideology! Can you believe it?

I requested something within the content policy and got the esoteric fantasy picture you can see. The one above. Almost scary.

 G7 too is Done

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

“This, too, is done.” In Italian “anche questa è fatta”. My father used his typical expression after something quite tiring was over, be it a family lunch or some other busy event.

I write from sunny Apulia, where the G7 summit has finally concluded.

About 15 years ago, I wrote a chapter for a book on G7-G20 and, generally, about the Groups of States. My primary source was the wonderful (and only) archive of the groups’ conclusions and documents hosted by the University of Toronto, where two efficient research groups are also established dedicated to G7 and G20. The only official websites come and go with the current presidency, as Groups do not have a permanent secretariat or website.

Of course, I had no idea about the travelling circus that goes with the Groups or any direct experience of having such an elite conference in your own town.

Now I know!

The gala dinner was hosted by the Italian Republic’s President Sergio Mattarella, in my town, Brindisi, in the beautiful castle I can see from my balcony. The Group’s works were hosted in a nice, expensive, relatively isolated resort called Borgo Egnazia, in the same province, some 50 km north. It is not a real village, just a very well-done fake one, offering the same atmosphere and total security with pools, heliport, and golf course (and walls all around to avoid curious and even more protesting or threatening crowds).

The security measures were crazy. Some 2600 people from different security corps added to the local ones, the firefighters, the military and the conspicuous groups of security people some guests brought with them (the winners being the US President, of course). The streets, brand new for the occasion, were blocked to usual circulation; the city looked desert, and a strange excitement was palpable, as a sort of compensation for the several days of discomfort for the people living and working in the area. About 1700 journalists were, instead, in a media centre in Bari, 110 km north of Brindisi and 60 of Borgo Egnazia. They were well-fed h24 with bio/km 0 Apulian food that, as everybody knows, is fantastic.

Most of the best (and less best)  hotels in this quite big area were filled with delegations: of the 7 governments first of all, but also from the guest countries, such as India, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Tunisia, Kenya and more…, and from the guest organisations: the EU (the only one admitted in the inner circle), United Nations, IMF, World Bank, WHO, WTO, and OECD. The Pope and Zelensky were there. All the ingredients for a big show were there, and the recipe worked.

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Head of Government—recently the Italian winner of the European elections with her centre-right coalition—appeared relaxed, charming, pretty, chic, and in command. The others were much smiling, too (maybe President Macron a bit less after the recent debacle). In such groupings, the informality and the body language communication of a message of comfort and confidence (friendship even!) are all it takes to say that it was a great success.

I will not describe in detail all that was discussed, recommended, encouraged, condemned and set up in the conclusions you can find here.

Only two very general considerations.

(i) Since I wrote about the Gs, in 2010, many things happened. The consequence is that the length of the final communique tripled (this one was 35 pages), and apart from several purely political declarations concerning third countries and events (even) they cannot control, many operational decisions were taken.

The Toronto research group on G7 informs us that it is not strange now to have up to 200 commitments or more in each presidency and that after one year, the level of compliance goes from 80 to 90% and above, according to states. Of course, some commitments are not very specific, so the compliance check is limited to – say – seeing if something has been done. But some are instead reasonably practical, such as creating structured cooperation on specific topics, establishing working groups, or even launching public-private partnerships with actual funding backing them.

This could be read as a growth in the political stature of the coordination of Western economies that was born in the 1970s to deal with crises, and it is. Yet there is more; I think that due to the multiple and interconnected crises, the growth in complexity and the inadequacy of multilateral organisations with their 190something members, this is a poor replacement for lacking global governance. Partial and elitist, yet it works, thanks to the small number and the (almost) informality of the people around the table (even if there are thousands behind the scenes actually negotiating and writing the papers).

(ii) The second consideration is more political: each premier’s domestic successes and failures, as well as their personal vision and political base, inevitably colour the results. We had a victorious host, some members facing failure at home (Macron, Sunak, Scholz) or very challenging elections (Biden), and others are close to the electoral deadline in 2025 with meagre support in the public opinion (Trudeau, Kishida).

All needed success, some positive results to “bring home” in the hope of gaining a few points in the next polls. Giorgia (as she likes to be addressed by the electors, as “one of us”) to consolidate the credibility and international legitimacy of a right-wing party for the first time in charge of the government. This is much needed now in preparation for the tough negotiations coming up on Europe’s top jobs after the elections (presidents of the European Parliament, of the Commission, of the European  Council and, of course, Commissioners).

So, with an eye to their electors, they conveniently defended international law and the rule of law, condemning Russia, Iran, Hamas, North Korea and Houthi. Gave a more cautious warning to China, did not condemn Netanyahu and the Israeli Government for their violations of international law, even if they were very much concerned with the loss of civilians in Palestine, asked for a cease-fire and expressed their commitment to humanitarian support and the two-states political solutions.

On a less dignified note, when dealing with gender equality, they conveniently forgot to mention abortion as well as the rights of the LGBTQ + minority, topics not digestible by Meloni’s voters. Of course, recalling previous documents was the best option for not denying the results already achieved in these fields.

Overall, it was a big success for all of them. It was a success for Apulia, too, in terms of the area’s visibility in the tourist market. The next time I see a G7 or G20 on TV, I will be more aware of its costs and implications for the local people. And their mixed feelings.

The Castello Svevo in Brindisi seen from my street 😉

SUPRANATIONAL DEMOCRACY DIALOGUE, VI Ed. 2-3 May, Brindisi (Italy)

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

“Map of Humanity” by James Turner. More on the “island” of Utopia here

SHARED VALUES AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE FOR PEACE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

The University of Salento will host a new edition of this unique event at Palazzo Nervegna, Brindisi, Italy, on 2-3 May 2024. This event aims to gather scholars from different backgrounds, international officials, representatives of civil society, and innovative thinkers to discuss the most significant challenges that humanity is currently facing.

In this dark time, the international community is increasingly concerned about war and the way it is shaking the very roots of civil coexistence, challenging the very foundations of international law. Against this backdrop, building peace and mutual understanding among peoples while working on adopting shared choices and embracing common interests remains the only possible option for those who believe that a different world is possible.

PROGRAM

MAY 2- PALAZZO GRANAFEI-NERVEGNA, BRINDISI

9 a.m. – Registration of Participants

9.30 a.m. – Welcome Greetings

Fabio POLLICE, Rector of University of Salento

Giuseppe MARCHIONNA, Mayor of the Brindisi Municipality

Maria D’APRILE, Liaison Officer UNGSC – Brindisi

Luigi MELICA, Head of the Law Department – UNISALENTO

Mariano LONGO, Head of the Human and Social Sciences Department – UNISALENTO

Martì GRAU SEGU,  Director Maison Jean Monnet – European Parliament

Anna Chiara STEFANUCCI, Head of EUROPE DIRECT Taranto

10 a.m. – Introductory Speech

Susanna CAFARO, Jean Monnet Chair EU World LAB

10.30 a.m. – Session I – The Founding Principles of the European Union and their Global Impact

Chair: Claudia MORINI, University of Salento

Speakers:

Massimo PENDENZA, University of Salerno – The future that Europa has left behind. Has the Europe’s ‘cosmopolitan normative vision been betrayed?

Oleksiy KANDYUK, Institute for Social Research “Chronos”, Kyiv – Evolution under Pressure: How Russia’s War in Ukraine Transforms European Union.

Mar INTROINI, G100 Global Networking – EU’s Loss of Values: Following a War Agenda instead of a Peace One.

Francesco SPERA & Polina ZAVERSHINSKAIA, University of Salento & University of Leipzig – Shared Values under Threat: How the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacted the EU Member States’ Memory Laws: the German and Italian Experiences.

Alice PISAPIA, Insubria University – The Solidarity Principle as a Founding Principle of the EU in the Health Sector.

Lunch break

3 p.m. – Parallel Brainstorming Sessions

  1. Democracy and Technology – facilitators: Valerie SAINTOT –  University of Gloucestershire & Marco LIUZZI –  United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC).

II.           Addressing Environmental Concerns – facilitators: Erik MANSSON –  Karlstad University & Fabiana MAGNOLO – Università del Salento.

III.         War & Peace: Governance for a Reconciled World – facilitators: Silvia SOLIDORO – Università del Salento & Andrea RUBINO – Naukleros ONLUS.

IV.         EU current Challenges and European Elections – facilitators : Stefania ATTOLINI -Université Catholique de Lyon & Jacopo LILLO– Università del Salento

5 p.m. – Plenary Groups’ Reports

MAY 3- PALAZZO GRANAFEI-NERVEGNA, BRINDISI

10.00 – Session II – Global Governance & Democracy

Chair: Saverio DI BENEDETTO, University of Salento

Speakers:

Anthony KEFALAS, Democracy and Culture Foundation – The Building Blocks of Democracy

Vassily ZAGREDTINOV, Lomonosov MSU – The Founding Principles of the European Union and their Global Impact

Wolfgang PAPE, European External Action Service – Omnilateralism for Holistic Global Governance.

Maria VARAKI, King’s College London – Digital peace and War: moral and legal dilemmas.

Paolo Davide FARAH, West Virginia University and University of Pittsburgh (USA), gLAWcal (UK)- Global Environmental Litigations with States and Multinational Companies.

Bledar KURTI, Albanian University – Security and Democracy as Shared Values on Global Governance for Peace and Development.

Matteo FULGENZI, Università del Salento – Glocal” Diplomacy in Pursuit of SDG 16 for World Peace and Security.

Lunch Break

15.00 – Keynote Concluding Speech

Monica FRASSONI, President European Alliance to Save Energy and European Center for Electoral Support – Democracy and Climate: a Test for Europe and the World – Democracy and Climate: a Test for Europe and the World.

Online at https://bit.ly/supranationaldemocracy2024

Registration link https://forms.gle/7pZHsYpBg9r9ucV79

Scientific Committee

Susanna Cafaro, Saverio Di Benedetto, Marti Grau Segu, Mariano Longo, Luigi Melica, Claudia Morini, Valerie Saintot.

Organizing Committee

Silvia Solidoro, Jacopo Lillo, Elisabetta Marzo, Nadia Perrone, Isabella Salsano, Francesco Viggiani, Ozan Yildirim.

Partners: UNGSC, UNICC Maison Jean Monnet – European Parliament, Democracy and Culture Foundation, Robert Triffin International, Atlas Movement, Democracy Without Borders, Club G100, CesUE, Euractiv.it, The Democracy School, Citizens Take over Europe, Italian Association of International Law Professors (SIDI)- Interest Groups on Human Rights (DIEDU); Association of Italian Experts of European Law (AISDUE)- Forum on International Projection of European Union (PIUE); Jean Monnet Chair and modules at Università del Salento, Europe Direct- Taranto; Project REACT “Re-shaping the EU integration Agenda after the COVID Turmoil” (PRIN 2020).

Call for Papers – Supranational Democracy Dialogue VI Edition

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

SUPRANATIONAL DEMOCRACY DIALOGUE

A Dialogue among Scholars, Civil Society, and Creative Thinkers about Global Democratic Solutions to Global Challenges.

VI Edition

“Shared Values and Global Governance for Peace and Development”

Brindisi, May 2-3, 2024

The University of Salento will host a new edition of the two-day event – the only one of its kind – to bring together scholars from different backgrounds, NGO leaders and political activists, businessmen and innovative thinkers to discuss the significant challenges facing humanity. The event has gained traction and attention over the years, being the only one in the world focused on democratic governance beyond borders.

The 2024 edition will focus on “Shared Values and Global Governance for Peace and Development”.

We cannot ignore the massive and disturbing return of war on the world stage and in our lives, just as we cannot forget the constant attack on nature that continues despite all efforts to stop it. Yet we believe – after a long theoretical tradition – that peace is not just the lack of war but the construction of harmony through structures of dialogue and forums for mutual understanding.

Those willing to contribute to this shared effort to shift current trends and narratives are invited to send an abstract by March 7, 2024, addressing one of the following topics:

  1. The Founding Principles of the European Union and their Global Impact
  1. Global Governance & Democracy

Contributions sub I may explore – for example – one of the following topics: the role of the Union in the world ad in the current crises; how it is reacting to challenges bigger than itself, such as climate change or migration waves; if and how it projects the values it is committed to respect, as listed in article 2 TUE; how the next European Parliament may manage the (already ambitious) political agenda.

Contributions sub II may address governance in the age of advanced technology and AI; environmental challenges at the supranational level and current governance limitations; innovative democratic mechanisms can be developed to overcome current impasses, and governance solutions to build lasting peace and reconcile former enemies.

These are, nonetheless, just suggestions and creative and innovative contributions fitting the two main topics are welcome. The ideal contribution is not just an analysis of the problem but a proposal for addressing it democratically, in some original or unconventional, yet feasible, way.

The abstract (max 500 words) and a short bio (max 300 words) must be sent to the e-mail address info@supranationaldemocracy.net.

Contributions may also be accepted for publication by the online open-access academic journal Athena. Critical Enquiries on Law, Philosophy and Globalization, partner of the event.

The authors of the selected abstracts will receive accommodation for two nights.

With the support of: Jean Monnet House, Democracy and Culture Foundation, Atlas, CesUE, Euractiv.it, Robert Triffin International, The Democracy School, Italian Association of International Law Professors (SIDI) – Group of Interest on International Organizations; Association of Italian Experts of European Law (AISDUE) – Forum on International Projection of European Union (PIUE); Jean Monnet Chair and Modules at University of Salento, G100 Italy.

SDD V IS GETTING CLOSER….

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

V Edition: “FOCUS ON TOOLS”

Brindisi May 18-19, 2023

The University of Salento will host a new edition of the two-day event – the only one of its kind – aimed at bringing together scholars from any background, NGO leaders and activists, and innovative thinkers to discuss together the most significant challenges facing humanity. The event has gained traction over the years being the only one in the world focused on democratic governance beyond borders.

The 2023 edition will be centred on democratic features and tools for governance which could be applied at any level of government from local to global, those that are, in a word, “scalable”.

The seven sessions will be dedicated to: the building of a political public sphere beyond borders; civic participation and citizens’ activism; digital democracy & AI; litigation for the advancement of collective rights; regional integrations and multilateralism; and the balancing of interests which is a responsibility for policymakers as well as for judges.

The main difference with the previous editions is highlighting tools instead of policy areas. Therefore, each session could touch upon different policy areas as case studies or be helpful for all of them in a horizontal way.

In each session, scholars, activists as well as international officers will interact among themselves and engage the audience with the aim of enlarging the perspective and triggering new insights and connections.

As our primary source of inspiration is the UN 2030 agenda, we firmly believe that the Sustainable Development Goals are interconnected. In particular, goal 17 “Partnership for the goals” is the key to unleashing the potential of each of them. Democracy and good governance serve them all.

What makes the 2023 edition particularly interesting is the rich list of international public and private partners supporting it, such as the Brindisi province, United Nations General Service Centre, UNHRD, the Robert Triffin International, Atlas movement, Democracy Without Borders, The Streit Council for a Union of Democracies, CesUE, Euractiv.it, The Democracy School, the Italian Association of International Law Professors (SIDI)– Interest Groups on International Economic Law (SIDI DIEcon) and on Human Rights (DIEDU); Association of Italian Experts of  European Law  (AISDUE)- Forum on International  Projection of European  Union (PIUE); Jean Monnet Chair and modules at Università del Salento.

Among the partners, we are particularly grateful to the Maison Jean Monnet – European Parliament, in Paris, that hosted a preparatory workshop on April 6-7 on European Supranational Democracy and Civic Engagement as a Model for Citizens’ Participation beyond Borders and that will host the entire event in streaming on its Facebook page and to the  Democracy and Culture Foundation, organizer of the Athens Democracy Forum each year in September, as they are willing to support this unique event as the external projection of their core topic in a post-national perspective.

Finally, we are very grateful to the online open-access academic journal Athena. Critical Enquiries on Law, Philosophy and Globalization will host – in a special section – papers presented in Brindisi.

Supranational democracy Dialogue 2022- Call for Papers

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

Brindisi- Seaview

SUPRANATIONAL DEMOCRACY DIALOGUE
A dialogue among scholars, civil society, and creative thinkers about global
democratic solutions to global challenges.
V Edition
“FOCUS ON TOOLS”
Brindisi May 18-19, 2023


The University of Salento will host the new edition of the two days event – the only one of its kind aimed at bringing together scholars from any background, NGO leaders and political activists, businessmen and innovative thinkers to discuss together the big challenges facing humanity.

Those willing to contribute are invited to send an abstract by February 28, 2023,
addressing one of the following topics:


I. The Building of a Political Public Sphere beyond Borders.
II. Civic Participation and Citizens’ Activism.
III. Digital Democracy & AI
IV. Litigation for the Advancement of Collective Rights.
V. Regional Integrations and Multilateralism.
VI. Balancing Conflicting Interests: a Task for Politics and Jurisdictions


Contributions are also welcome if they lay at the intersection of two or more topics (cross-cutting themes such as governance, inequality, transparency…) or if they have a wider focus and include a case study falling within one of the four topics listed above.
The ideal contribution is not just an analysis of the problem, but a proposal for addressing it democratically in some original or unconventional way, yet feasible. The abstract (max 500 words), together with a short bio (max 300 words), may be sent to the e-mail address info@supranationaldemocracy.net.
The authors of the selected abstracts will receive two-night accommodation.


With the support of

UNGSC, Maison Jean Monnet, Democracy and Culture Foundation, Atlas, Democracy Without Borders, The Streit Council for a Union of Democracies, CesUE, Euractiv.it, The Democracy School, Italian Association of International Law Professors (SIDI)- Interest Groups on International Economic Law (SIDI DIEcon) and on Humar Rights (DIEDU); Association of Italian Experts of European Law (AISDUE)- Forum on International Projection of European Union (PIUE); Jean Monnait Chair and modules at Università del Salento.

Shifting the Paradigm II: New Rules in the World Order

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

29maggio final

On May 29, at 4 PM CE, the final webinar in the Supranational Democracy Series:
Shifting the Paradigm II: New Rules in the World Order.

Does the Planet need new rules? Does the post-pandemic world need new legal or institutional tools for a more cooperative (and less competitive) system of sovereign states? or even beyond sovereign states?

Can we imagine a more democratic global governance? a more eco-friendly global governance? Can we imagine citizens and civil society have a meaningful say over global issues affecting them all?

This webinar series – which replaced in these pandemic times – a more traditional conference, has been -for me – an incredible journey. I had the amazing opportunity to discuss these huge topics, with many inspiring people: professors and journalists, experts, and activists, researchers in different fields but with equally strong dedication, approaching similar issues from very different angles.

And I could learn how a webinar works, along the way! Gosh, it wasn’t easy…

I had several aha moments. I saw a little preview of something which has still to be built: a frank,  open debate in a global transnational public sphere.

Whatever the world we are envisioning, I suppose that opening such space, encouraging a conversation and a narrative beyond the borders, is a precondition for our evolution as a species.

We are still learning how to communicate as global citizens, how to build a world public opinion of which the young people of the “Fridays for future” have been the vanguard.

There is still a long way to go, but, quoting Lao Tzu, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

And we have taken a few steps.

I want to thank all my wonderful fellow travelers.

Rethinking Global Rules and Institutions

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

WKSHP_SDD_1505020_SLIDE

The current global health crisis shows an unprecedented interconnectedness of the human family. Moreover, it has fostered an unprecedented debate over the borders.

Networks and networks of networks are now debating about the “new normal” and are wondering if we really want to go back to the “old” normal.

It is strange. It seems that we needed such a traumatic event as a pandemic to really stop and think about our development model. We had already plenty of reasons to do so: the unsustainable inequalities, the unacceptable damages to our beautiful planet.

But it seems that we really needed to stop and think. To be forced to do so.

And here we are.

This series of debates was imagined well before the pandemic. A call for papers was put out in October 2020. And it looks like we are going timely to the point, to discuss a change which is necessary, to imagine new scenarios and new models for cooperation, sustainability, and resilience.

The next events in the series are going to focus even more on the needs, and on the awareness required to prioritize them.

Stay with us!

Susanna

The link to the recording is here

Oneness

Posted on by Susanna Cafaro

Lungomare_città_di_BrindisiChapter I

Brindisi, March 10th, 2020

When it all started

It started as a quiet subversion of daily habits.

After the declaration of the state of emergency throughout Italy, the roads appeared deserted even in the southern regions where the risk was very low, just a handful of people infected by province.

Few people with masks and scared looks entered and left the shops on that beautiful March day.

Government instructions were clear: you could only leave the house for reasons of strict necessity: for medical treatments, for work, for “survival”, that is shopping for food.

The population was forbidden to touch, hug and kiss, to leave their own town of residence. All the activities that could be carried out from home – as distance learning or smart working – continued. Also some essential public services. But who knows how many activities were interrupted and for how long.

The planes no longer left. The silence was striking. In that green suburb close to the airport it sounded unnatural.

What struck me most was the loss of the little things I had always taken for granted: hugging my father, for example; exchange kisses on the occasion of my birthday; take a walk without a real destination just to look at the sea.

What about meeting my partner? He lived in another town and seeing each other was now impossible. Until when?

I felt a pang in the stomach. What if either of us got sick? No visiting, no help? And if it became serious? 100 km never felt like a difficult distance, now they were.

It was the first time I really thought of sickness as a real possibility.

Back home, I was welcomed by the usual smiles of my sons.

Ours was a little bubble of positivity.

We left daily news enter only for short updates in the morning and in the evening. The TV was turned off most of the time. Except when PlayStation was turned on, which was, for my standards, way too much.

My sons had reacted in two different yet quite healthy ways: one, the younger – just turned fourteen – had celebrated the closure of the school as a historic event per se, but deplored the fact that homework continued to arrive just the same.

The older one, close to his sixteen birthday, had armed himself with patience and although he suffered from the loss of his social life, seemed serene. Both had hobbies and games to play, they enjoyed all this extra time for themselves.

Turning off TV wasn’t a real novelty for us, but now it was self-defense. The virus was on-air h24. This health crisis had obscured all the other crises, not less dramatic: the bombing of civilians in Syria, the desperate situation of migrants on the Greek border, the exceptional Arctic temperatures.

We had all seen pictures of penguins trotting in the mud instead of slipping elegantly on the pack: the photos had circulated on Facebook but had never found their way to TV news, yet 20 ° in Antarctica was big news. And the violations of fundamental rights perpetrated massively on refugees? What was happening?

Moreover, the United States was shipping 20,000 troops in Europe, the largest deployment of forces in 25 years. Apparently, practicing to lead a convoy across the Atlantic. Could we need a new landing in Normandy or Sicily? Who would invade us: the Russians? the Chinese? For the moment the Americans, although they had promised that they would leave Europe after cleaning training areas.

How could all this make sense in the middle of a pandemic?

Internet was the only source for everything that was not the virus and its consequences, a massive and chaotic source, overflowing with fake. Fake news continued to arrive on every mobile via the WhatsApp groups. I had received maybe ten times the same message telling us to fight infection with hot drinks, as ridiculous as it sounded, most of my contacts had believed and passed it on.

I had spent the last two months organizing big conferences, one was already canceled, the other looked uncertain but we were clinging to the idea that everything would be fine and that the emergency would end soon.

Ironically, our conferences were on democratic global governance, on commons and common values. I smiled at the idea that speaking of democracy with the right of meeting suspended was quite a thing.

By the way, our team knew how much this was contradicting the direction that politics seemed to have taken at the national and the global level. Yet, it was a way to face and counter the narrative, hopefully, to start writing a different one.

And now this virus, quietly, was overwriting on its own, putting on hold globalization, reviving borders and building new ones, even from town to town.

I was feeling like a little lab rat. Italy was a little lab. Our first-class citizenship which allowed us to go everywhere, often visa-free, was now rejected. Closed, each of us in our little towns.

And yet, with the coronavirus declared a global health emergency by WHO, we had further (unnecessary!) evidence that borders were pointless in front of great emergencies, that viruses traveled without documents and that you could find yourself on the wrong side in no time.

Solutions, whatever, needed cooperation, not competition. We were all connected, even more with hugs forbidden.

I had so much to work on, articles and chapters on democracy and citizenship and global governance, but all this thinking was bringing me to the core: oneness. I had to work on oneness, skipping all the intermediate steps.

To be continued…

Chapter II

Chapter III