Dealing with Autocracies in a Fragmented World

In December, PRIF has published the conference report of the PRIF Annual Conference 2023 "Dealing with Auto­cracies in a Fragmented World" summari­zing the results of the two-day event.

The PRIF Annual Conference 2023 “Dealing with Autocracies in a Frag­mented World” explored from an empirical and normative per­spective how democracies can and should deal with auto­cracies in the current multi­polar world.

One focus of the discussions was on the extent to which general norms, such as the do-no-harm principle or the demand for coherence with democratic values, are relevant in inter-state interactions, which range from cooperation and coexistence to competition and withdrawal to open conflict.This topic was dis­cussed in four panels that each had a specific focus on a mode of interaction, a specific issue area and world region: infra­structure policies with a focus on China (panel 1), energy and climate policies with a view to EU relations with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (panel 2), inter­national demo­cracy promotion, with a focus on EU policies towards MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa (panel 3), and inter­national security, taking an in-depth look at Russia’s war in Ukraine and its global implications (panel 4).

The conference report can be down­loaded here.