Paper Series: Countering Authoritarian Populism in Practice
In 2025, the advancement of movements rooted in exclusion and othering seems relentless, while authoritarian populist leaders, across Europe and North America, from the United States to Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, and Italy, continue to accrue political victories. At the time of this writing, measures that years ago seemed unthinkable or unconsciousable, whether it is the deployment of the national guard in Washington DC or European Union leaders from mainstream parties advocating for …
Bridging Political Divides Through Democratic Dialogue: The »Speaking & Listening« Approach in Germany
Imagine a mode of politics that is connecting and regenerative rather than polarizing and exhausting. This article presents »Speaking & Listening«, a dialogue format from the German NGO Mehr Demokratie e. V. designed to create experiences of truly being heard. Through a simple structure of timed, uninterrupted speaking times, the practice helps deepen one’s own opinions while bridging divides. The article details the method and describes the growing movement of facilitators using the approach to promote a democratic culture rooted in our shared humanity.