UN talk with Ambassador Bob Rae: Challenges, democracy, and the way forward

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing in the sphere of electoral administration, still its impact has yet to be fully understood. What lessons on electoral AI from the 2024 Supercycle election year can we bring into 2025? How might Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) plan to incorporate AI into their work and what consequences would this have for democracy?In this podcast episode, Juliane Müller, Associate Programme Officer at the Digitalization and Democracy Programme sits down with Prathm Juneja, PhD candidate in Social Data Science at the Oxford Internet Institute and expert for International IDEA's AI for Electoral Actors project to answer these questions and more.This episode is the first in a series for the AI for Electoral Actors project that aims to raise AI literacy among EMBs in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Read more about the project: https://www.idea.int/project/ai-electoral-actorsBackground Reading: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/artificial-intelligence-electoral-management https://www.idea.int/news/democratic-foundation-electoral-ai-1https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/global-digital-compact-democracyhttps://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/codes-conduct-rise-fair-and-ethical-political-campaigning-online

A pesar de los avances en la representación política de las mujeres en América Latina, persisten desafíos significativos, como la violencia de género en la política. En esta conversación con Marcela Ríos Tobar, directora regional de IDEA Internacional para América Latina y El Caribe, exploramos hallazgos, repercusión y recomendaciones para hacer frente a este problema que a veces se trivializa o subestima.Según el informe y un estudio de ONU Mujeres, el 80% de las mujeres entrevistadas en 15 países manifestaron que limitaron su participación en las redes, y el 40% se autocensuró.  El impacto de la violencia política de género requiere soluciones de conjunto para prevenir y mitigar sus efectos.Violencia política de género en la esfera digital en América Latina: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/violencia-politica-de-genero-en-la-esfera-digital-en-america-latina?lang=es 

International IDEA's Outreach and United Nations Liaison Officer, Amanda Sourek, talked to Ambassador Bob Rae, who serves as the 80th President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and has been the Permanent Representative of Canada to the UN since 2020. Bob Rae discussed the role of youth in politics, the deadlock in the Security Council, the crisis in Myanmar, Russia's war against Ukraine, the 2030 Agenda, how democracy is portrayed at the UN, and the role of civil society in multilateral engagement. Background ReadingUN Charter: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charterBob Rae’s biography: https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/un-onu/new-york-rep.aspx?lang=engVision and activities of Ambassador Bob Rae as the 80th President of ECOSOC: https://ecosoc.un.org/en/about-us/vision-and-activities-president 

Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Honorary President of the Club of Roam and co-author of Earth For All: A Survival Guide for Humanity’ has gathered the knowledge of an international team of scientists, economic thinkers, and multidisciplinary experts, to five extraordinary turnarounds to achieve wellbeing and prosperity for all, reduce social tension and ensure strong democracies within planetary boundaries. She discussed with International IDEA's Communicators Director Alistair Scrutton how to achieve global sustainable policies win a world of economic inequality, backsliding democracies and political polarisation.Background Reading: 'Earth For All: A Survival Guide for Humanity’

An interview with Luisa Neubauer, a German climate campaigner who is using both the courts and civic groups to push authorities to take climate policy more seriously.Access International IDEA's databases, reports and initiatives on Climate Change and Democracy: https://www.idea.int/theme/climate-change-and-democracy 

This is the second of a three-episode series featuring LEGITIMULT, its findings and tools for addressing and solving future crises. Drawing from the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic the LEGITIMULT (Legitimate Crisis Governance in Multilevel Systems) project  aims to identify a model of political legitimate crisis governance that takes into account the interplay between international, national, regional and local governments and institutions.Its guiding research question “Which conditions contribute to democratically legitimate crisis governance?” will allow governments and policy makers to better face the crises of the future. The aim is not only to have effective responses, but that these measures respect and guarantee basic human rights and freedoms.  LEGITIMULT is funded through Horizon Europe and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).Guests:Ida Karkiainen, Member of the Swedish Parliament, Chair of the Committee on the ConstitutionDr Andreas Kiefer, former Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (2010-2022)Co-hosted by:·       Gentiana Gola, Adviser for Europe at the Democracy Assessment team, International IDEA·       Dr Marcus Guderjan, Researcher at the Otto-Suhr-Institute of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin.

On the sidelines of the launch of IDEA’s latest report on climate assemblies in the Global South, Billie Phillips spoke to Dr Sanskriti Menon about the power of citizen assemblies as a tool of public participation in governance  and her experience working with assemblies in both rural and urban communities in India. Guest: Dr Sanskriti MenonBackground Reading: “We need a new story of deliberative democracy” – IDEA launches new report on Climate AssembliesDeliberative Democracy and Climate Change: Exploring the Potential of Climate Assemblies in the Global South

In this episode, Yukihiko Hamada, Programme Manager for Money in Politics, is joined by Dr. Sam Power and Dr. Wouter Wolfs to discuss how political finance shapes the political and electoral landscape in the EU and the UK. In this in-depth conversation on the influence of money in democracy, they dive into the challenges of third-party spending, online campaign finance, and the role emerging technologies—like AI—can play in improving political finance oversight. Background Reading: https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/political-finance-digital-age-case-study-european-union?lang=enhttps://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/digital-disclosure-political-finance-in-europe?lang=enhttps://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/regulating-business-election-campaigns?lang=enhttps://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/codes-conduct-rise-fair-and-ethical-political-campaigning-online?lang=enhttps://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/winning-elections-right-way-online-political-advertising-rules-europe-and?lang=en

In this episode of Peer-to-Peer, we speak with Alice Hill and Erik Asplund to explore how extreme weather, intensified by climate change, impacts elections and disenfranchises voters. Alice and Erik share their insights on the challenges disasters pose to voting, the role of climate change in increasing the frequency and/or intensity of extreme weather events, and how natural hazards are already affecting elections around the world. They also discuss the impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton on southeastern states ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election on November 5, 2024, and emphasize the need for reforms to safeguard elections from future emergencies and crises.Guests: Alice Hill works as the David M. Rubinstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her work focuses on the risks, consequences and responses associated with climate change. During the Obama administration, she was Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for Resilience Policy at the National Security Council. She has co-authored the book Building a Resilient Tomorrow and the recent Climate Central report Disenfranchised by Climate Change. Erik Asplund is a Senior Programme Officer in the Electoral Processes Programme, International IDEA. His research covers elections during emergencies and crises, risk management in elections, and training and professional development in electoral administration. He is the project lead for the natural hazard and elections projects. Recent books include Elections during Emergencies and Crises: Lessons for Electoral Integrity from the Covid-19 Pandemic(International IDEA 2023)Host: Dr. Annika Silva-Leander is Head of North America at International IDEA where she oversees International IDEA’s outreach in the region, including relations with US government agencies, democracy assistance organizations and academic institutions, its engagement with the United Nations, and coordination of the Global Democracy Coalition. Annika is also International IDEA’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, representing International IDEA at the UN General Assembly.  For more information about the episode or the work done by International IDEA on electoral processes, please contact us via [email protected]

The influence of money in Indian politics has long been a subject of debate, with concerns over its impact on democracy, governance, and the political landscape.In this episode, Khushbu Agrawal speaks to Milan Vaishnav, exploring this nexus in India, where money is the currency of power. From the soaring costs of elections to the criminalization of politics, this episode uncovers how financial power has the potential to shape policies, politicians, and political outcomes in the world’s largest democracy.Guest: Milan Vaishnav, Senior Fellow and the Director of South Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for Peace, Washington DCBackground Reading:https://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/political-finance-digital-age-case-indiahttps://milanvaishnav.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/costs-of-democracy-proofs-introduction.pdfhttps://milanvaishnav.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/costs-of-democracy-proofs-sridharan-chapter.pdfhttps://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2017/02/if-money-is-not-distributed-you-are-finished?lang=enhttps://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2019/01/political-finance-in-india-deja-vu-all-over-again?lang=en