Just Peace Dialogue: Democracy and Peace
What is the relationship between democracy and peace? Do the two go hand in hand, so that less democracy means less peace? Or can democracy work against peace: for example, by producing protectionist and militarist governments? Or is there something more deeply wrong with democracy as we know it, such that future peace depends on a transformation of democracy? If so, what kind of new democracy do we need? During this Just Peace Dialogue speakers dove into these questions and many more.
-
-
-
Prof dr Antoaneta Dimitrova, Leiden University -
Violet Benneker, Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) -
From left to right: Rugiatu Neneh Turay-Koroma, N’NINKIE Project; and Gjovalin Macaj, Leiden University -
-
-
-
-
Break out group led by Rugiatu Neneh Turay-Koroma -
Break out group led by Mateo Cohen -
Break out group led by Antoaneta Dimitrova -
Break out group led by Gjovalin Macaj
Meet the panel
Mateo I. Cohen, Leiden University
- Mateo I. Cohen is a lecturer and doctoral researcher at Leiden University's Political Science Department. Mateo published research articles on the Israeli right, conservative ideology, and democratic decay in various academic journals. His 2025 research monograph, Radicalized Conservatism in Israel (Leiden University Press), received praise for its contribution to the study of Israeli politics, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the ideological challenge to democracy.
Antoaneta Dimitrova, Leiden University
- Antoaneta Dimitrova's research brings together different lines of inquiry relating to governance transfer across national borders. An enduring theme in her work has been the effect of the European Union on the democratic and market transformations of the post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Other key themes are EU enlargement, currently focusing on the EU’s strategy towards the Western Balkan candidates. Another theme in her research inquires into the causes of democratic backsliding and especially role of state capture.
Gjovalin Macaj, Leiden University
-
Gjovalin Macaj is Assistant Professor in peace and justice at Leiden University. He holds a DPhil in human rights from the University of Oxford and a PhD in European foreign policy from Free University of Brussels. He served as an advisor to the Mission of Albania at the United Nations Security Council in 2022–23, where he covered country situations (e.g. Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq) and thematic issues (e.g. peacekeeping, sanctions, international courts and tribunals). His research focuses on the theory and practice of human rights, ethics, norms, diplomacy, the European Union and the United Nations.
Rugiatu Neneh Turay-Koroma, N’NINKIE Project
- Rugiatu Neneh Turay is a Sierra Leonean changemaker, civic society leader, and former Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, known for her grassroots and policy-level work on women’s rights, anti-corruption, and community-led development. She founded the Amazonian Initiative Movement to end FGM through culturally respectful, non-violent alternatives, and co-leads N’NINKIE, promoting locally driven solutions for structural change and true empowerment for all groups in society. A 2024 Hrant Dink Award recipient, Neneh believes, “The world needs peace and peace, like change, can only come from within.”
Moderator: Violet Benneker, Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD)
- Violet Benneker is a political dialogue expert currently working for NIMD, a global democracy support organization active in countries such as Myanmar, Ethiopia, Mali, Colombia, and the Dutch Caribbean. She teaches her own master’s course on political dialogue at Leiden University. Her PhD research focused on how political dialogues can lead to the implementation of contested human rights.