The Spread of Illiberal Practices in the Euro-Mediterranean Transnational Space

As transnational learning and solidarity grow among illiberal actors, it is necessary to create platforms to brainstorm about how to promote inclusive and moderate approaches to governance and foster collaboration across borders. There is a need to encourage joint initiatives, such as partnerships and advocacy campaigns among civil society organisations, policymakers and international organisations aimed at combating the spread of illiberal values.

This event aims to raise awareness about the widespread and transnational nature of illiberal practices in the Euro-Mediterranean region. By discussing how illiberal actors politicise issues like migration, religion, and foreign policy to reinforce majoritarianism and undermine democratic institutions, this event aims to bring together representatives from civil society and academia to recognise these patterns and start a dialogue on how to counter these challenges effectively.

Speakers

Authors of the Policy Brief:

• Dr Pelin Ayan Musil is a senior researcher at the Centre for the Study of Global Regions at IIR Prague. She studied Political Science at Bilkent University, Ankara (Ph.D.) and at Central European University, Budapest (M.A.). She is also a senior lecturer at Anglo-American University (AAU) and Charles University Faculty of Social Sciences. Her research interests include democratization and regimes change, political parties with a focus on contemporary Turkey and the Middle East. 
• Dr Clément Steuer is a senior researcher at the Centre for the Study of Global Regions at IIR Prague. He studied political science at Lyon 2 University (Ph.D.), Sciences Po Lyon (Ma.), and Sciences Po Toulouse (Bc.), in France. He has lectured at universities in Cairo, Paris, Lyon and Prague. His professional interests involve comparative politics of the MENA region, political party systems, social movements, and regime changes. 
• Dr Azriel Bermant is a senior researcher at the Centre for the Study of Global Regions at IIR Prague. He holds a PhD in diplomatic history from University College London and an MA in international relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His work has focused on British foreign policy, Europe-Israel relations, transatlantic relations, regional security, arms control, nuclear deterrence and nuclear proliferation.He is the author of Margaret Thatcher and the Middle East (2016, Cambridge University Press).

Commentators:

• Dr Tereza Jermanova is an assistant professor at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Charles University where she researches and teaches contemporary Middle Eastern and North African politics and acts as a guarantor of the bachelor's program in Middle Eastern Studies. As a comparative political scientist, she focuses on democratization, constitutional processes, authoritarian institutions, and politics in Tunisia and Egypt. She received her Ph.D. in comparative political science from the University of Warwick, UK.
• Klára Jiráčková is a program manager for the Middle East and North Africa Region in the Center for Human Rights and Democracy at People in Need. She studied at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and particularly focuses on the civil society and democratization processes in the region.
• Dr Jaroslav Bílek is a Research Fellow at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague. He graduated from the University of West Bohemia (M.A., 2014) and the University of Hradec Králové (PhD, 2018). His research focuses on several topics related to the politics of electoral authoritarian regimes and problems of democracy in the contemporary world. He studied the causes and consequences of electoral manipulation, the effects of democratic and autocratic linkages, civil-military relations in Latin America and single-issue parties in new democracies.