DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council

Valery Perry talks with Dr. Louis Monroy Santander about last weekend's elections in Colombia which saw a narrow win by a far-right populist candidate against a candidate from the left. The left/right split was notable as it reflects a polarization that has emerged in Colombia, and which needs to be understood in the context of seven decades of violence in that country. They talk about what th...

DPC's Valery Perry talks with Randall Puljek-Shank, who was involved in conflict transformation, community building and citizen activism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for over two decades. He returned to the US shortly before the 2024 presidential elections and reflects on how his work in BiH and elsewhere around the world has prepared him for the current democratic challenges in the US, and...

DPC's Valery Perry talked with Pippa Gallop of Bankwatch about the southern gas interconnection gas pipeline project, which has become a main US political priority in BiH in spite of major questions about transparency, environmental impact, due diligence, the potential for it to become a stranded asset, and the long-term cost to the people of BiH. Bankwatch warned of the pitfalls of this proje...

Why have we been led to think that in an election 50% + 1 is somehow a good outcome, and represents a real majority of preferences? Are there better options? Valery Perry talks with Peter Emerson of the De Borda Institute in Belfast to try to answer this question and introduce the concept of multi-preference decision making. He also shares his experiences over several decades cycling around the wo...

Valery Perry talks with Samir Beharic, who started his career as a young activist in high school and is now working on his PhD in Germany. They talk about the lack of concerted civic actions in BiH and the region taking on the big issues and frustrations that unite people, in general but in particular with regard to mining and extraction. The inability to break out of these straight jackets makes...

Valery Perry talks with Adnan Huskić in a conversation that quickly veers into the big picture macro political shifts that are shaking the world, while considering what this means for BiH and the region. Huskić, a seasoned Bosnian political analyst and academic, provides a forensic and wide-ranging examination of the democratic crises simultaneously afflicting Bosnia-Herzegovina and the wider libe...

DPC's Valery Perry talks with City Councilman Matt Joseph, a big friend of Bosnia and Herzegovina about his vision for BiH, and his reflections about democracy in the US in 2026.