There have been a number of exceptional events in 2016, including Brexit and Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. Next year promises to be no less extraordinary, with elections scheduled in such major European countries as France and Germany. Within this context the Aspen Junior Fellows Annual Conference focused on the great changes affecting politics in the 21st century, which relate to the efficiency and constraints of the democratic process, populism and technocracy, and new forms of communication and engagement, supported by the innovations of digital technology.
The first session of the conference addressed the future of politics. The debate, entirely divorced from partisan considerations, highlighted the need to extend the traditional categories of political discourse beyond the left-right divide. It focused on the new dichotomies between insiders and outsiders, between government forces and anti-system movements, and on changes in the way parties have traditionally been organized. The ideological debate has shifted to the delicate balance between issues of identity and nationality, on the one hand, and solidarity and the obligations of membership of international organizations (such as the European Union,) on the other.
The second session of the conference examined how the process of international governance is being redefined. The discussions focused first on the experiences of other European countries, such as the emergence of new parties and movements in Spain and the new tendencies seen in the recent local elections in Germany. Next, there was a review of European trends, the role attained by the German leadership, and the reasons for and impact of Brexit. Speakers identified the difficulty of reconciling democratic processes that remain essentially national with the need for effective public policies at the international and global levels.
Last, the meeting examined the relationship between politics and religion, which has traditionally helped to steer and formulate consensus. It seems too early to speak in terms of a secularization of politics. Both in Europe and elsewhere, value-based issues – whether relating to identity (including religious traditions) or solidarity (in connection with migration, for instance) – are returning to the fore. The appeal to religion for political purposes reflects the topicality of the issue throughout the world and the importance of the “theological factor” in the global agenda and of the relationship between belief and belonging, between secularism and faith, between pluralism and nonnegotiable values.