Nobel Peace Talks - The Dictator’s Playbook

Democracies are often attacked from within, step by step. What does it look like when the democracy is under attack, and what is it like to live under authoritarian rule? Authoritarian leaders across the world use the same strategy to gain power and keep control. What strategies do they use and how can we recognize attacks on democracy? Meet three people with experience from living under authoritarian rule, and one of Norway’s leading democracy researchers: Darya Shut, political scientist, author and activist from Belarus. She is the co-founder of the Belarusian association in Norway – Razam and author of the book “The Prize of Liberty”, where she describes how it is to grow up in an authoritarian regime. Ramon Barreto, lawyer, political scientist and activist from Venezuela. Barreto is a PhD Candidate at Oslo Met and member of Norwegian Venezuelan Justice Alliance (NorVen). Hamidreza Mohammadi, teacher and translator from Iran and the brother of Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2023. Narges Mohammadi received the prize for her fight for women’s rights and human rights in Iran and is imprisoned by the regime. Carl Henrik Knutsen, Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, where he leads the Comparative Institutions and Regimes research group. He is also Professor II at the University of South-Eastern Norway, Affiliated Researcher at the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Principal Investigator at Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem). Moderator: Jette F. Christensen, foreign and security analyst for Altinget, political scientist, author, and former Member of Parliament (2010–2021). Democratic backsliding is her professional field. The event is part of the series Nobel Peace Talks, focusing on topics related to the latest Nobel Peace Prize. With the peace prize awarded to Maria Corina Machado as backdrop, we discuss developments in Venezuela, the global consequences, and the state of democracy in the world.