The Age of Democratic Security
A conversation with
Alain Berset
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
and
Alexander Cooley
Claire Tow Professor of Political Science
Democracy. Memory. Multilateralism. Accountability. Words that once defined the postwar order — now dismissed as elitist, “woke,” or dead. In his first U.S. address, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset challenges a world where democracy is seen as weakness, truth as opinion, and justice as optional.
Drawing on Europe’s response to war in Ukraine, peace in the South Caucasus, tensions in the Balkans, democratic decline across the continent, and its evolving role on the global stage, Berset argues that the European and global postwar order must be renewed. He calls for a new doctrine of democratic security, where rights, independent institutions, and public trust are not symbolic values but strategic assets.
At a time when the transatlantic bond is tested by isolationism and drift, Berset asks what kind of Europe must emerge in a world no longer held together by shared assumptions — and whether democracy can still defend itself in a present where the old world is gone, the new one hasn’t yet arrived, and the very idea of long-term responsibility is vanishing before our eyes.
Columbia University students are invited to participate in a moderated question-and-answer session.
Registration is closed. Please join us for the livestream on the World Leaders Forum website.
