Democracy Newsletter July 2022

Dear readers,

In Ukraine, bombs are still falling by the minute and war crimes are being committed by Russia every hour. In addition, those responsible for this unprovoked attack – which violates international law – distort the realities on a daily basis to such an extent that even in free and democratic societies such as Switzerland, the Russian narrative is sometimes believed.

When I arrived at the Lugano train station in the middle of the night in thunder and lightning early last week, a cab driver drove me to the place where I was staying for the night. He was firmly convinced that it was the democratic states of the world that were responsible for the bloody war in Ukraine: “I admire Putin for doing what he wants to do,” he said.

The short drive through the pouring rain did not allow us to start a real conversation. For example, about the fact that Putin in his sphere of influence silences contradictory voices – and the cab driver indeed embodies one such voice – more and more consistently and makes them disappear. Or that a conference like the reconstruction conference in Lugano in early July gave countless people in a wide variety of roles, the opportunity to exchange ideas in person for the first time since the outbreak of the war, and to make plans to strengthen democracy in Ukraine, in Europe and around the world.

Freedom of expression is one of the key fundamental prerequisites of our democratic societies. It enables (but does not guarantee) peaceful coexistence, despite all differences and contradictions, without bombs, war crimes and state-imposed lies.

Since the beginning of the war, SWI swissinfo.ch has been reporting on the possibilities of democratic reconstruction, giving a voice to freedom of expression, and questioning and researching how these fundamental freedoms stand in a country like Switzerland as well. We are interested in your opinion and reflections on this. Please participate in our ten-language democracy debates – or contact me directly.

Yours sincerely

Bruno Kaufmann

Global Democracy Correspondent and Coordinator of the SWI Democracy Editorial Team

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