On Thursday, September 25, Secretary General Alain Berset visited Columbia as the last event of the Columbia World Leaders Forum.

For the last event of the World Leaders Forum, the Council of Europe’s Secretary General Alain Berset visited Columbia and engaged in a conversation with Alex Cooley, the Claire Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College. In the Low Library Rotunda, the two discussed the infrastructure, security, and backsliding of democracy. 

The event started with a welcome from Columbia President Claire Shipman, who emphasized the value of the World Leader’s Forum. The Forum occurs during the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, during which leaders from around the world visit New York. Shipman discussed how it is vital to foster interactions between global leaders and students, encouraging them to ask challenging questions of some of the most powerful people on the planet. She then introduced Alain Berset, who is a former Member of the Swiss General Council as well as a former professor and academic. Since 2024 he has served as the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, overseeing the management and work of the Council, an organization that is focused on upholding human rights and the rule of law in Europe.

The first part of the event included a speech from Secretary General Berset to the crowd. He began with the words “We think we know democracy. We are wrong.” He continued to say that the concept of democracy has become something of a “woke” phrase, which underscores the lack of democratic security in global society. He addressed the issue of the current war in Ukraine, stating that it has shown how there is an erosion of trust in the quality of democracy, and that “when trust is gone, so is democracy.” He connected this to the rise in global political violence, stating that when lies and ideas that are meant to divide us spread, violence tends to follow. 

The Secretary General ended by speaking directly to students, recognizing that there has been a significant loss of trust in democracy on the part of the younger generation, who have not known stability for a long time. He emphasized that there must be a global commitment to democratic security in the same way that there is currently a commitment to military defense. In the grand scheme of things, he noted, democracy is just beginning, and we as citizens have the ability to define a collective future and rebuild. 

The conversation was then opened up to a discussion between Professor Cooley and the Secretary General, as well as to student questions. On the topic of democratic institutions, Secretary General Berset believes that political trends have shifted toward making things extremely black and white. The focus, he says, should instead be upon finding a gradient within democracy in which answers do not have to be binary, but a consensus. When asked about democratic accountability and decision making, the General highlighted the need for putting aside frustration to focus on stability and implementing the Rule of Law in a fair and free manner.

The conversation explored a multitude of topics, but always came back to a main point: without trust in our democratic institutions, democracy will continue to erode. Secretary General Berset ended with the idea that democracy is about accepting your position as a member of society, and looking to foster dialogue about opposing opinions. He highlighted the risks of polarization and the need for disclosure as an essential part of democracy. He ended by affirming his desire for multilateralism within regional institutions as well as throughout Europe and the world, with the hope that everyone can come together to preserve the systems that represent us.

Secretary General Alain Berset and Alex Cooley via Author