WEBINAR: EU democracy promotion in turbulent times – a critical reflection
Watch the recording of the webinar held on 17 September 2025, where members of the EMBRACE consortium discuss the challenges and opportunities for bottom-up actors seeking democratic change through popular uprisings and social movements. Drawing on research from the Middle East and North Africa, the South Caucasus, and the Western Balkans, the discussion explores how grassroots struggles for democracy, EU engagement, and broader geopolitical shifts shape political trajectories across the European neighborhood, and concludes with recommendations on how the EU can better support bottom-up actors in promoting democracy.
The conversation was moderated by Prof. Dr. Sonja Grimm from Julius-Maximilians- University Würzburg and featured Prof. Dr. David Aprasidze from Ilia State University, Tbilisi; Dr. Sarah Anne Rennick, Deputy Director of the Arab Reform Initiative; Marko Zilovic from the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade; and Lara Azzam, Senior Project Manager at the Berghof Foundation’s Beirut office.