Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert, former President of the Bundestag and Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, spoke on the topic in front of an audience of 700 in the packed auditorium of the University of Bonn on December 3, 2025: "Democracy needs democrats - what shape is our country in?"

After the welcome address by the Rector, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch, the Chairwoman of the IDP, Prof. Dorothee Dzwonnek, opened the event with an analysis of the situation of democracy and the rule of law, which has prompted the association "Internationaler Demokratiepreis Bonn e.V." to develop additional activities, such as the lecture series "Demokratie lebt vom Mitmachen" (Democracy thrives on participation) and the IDP School Prize.

Right at the beginning of his speech, Lammert was impressed by the great response - especially as the formula "democracy needs democrats" sounds banal at first. He proved that it is not by taking a look at political participation in Germany: on average, only around two thirds of those entitled to vote take part in elections, and one third do not make use of this "royal right of democracy".

All parties together had just over one million members, meaning that less than three percent of eligible voters decided who would run for political office and which programs would be on offer.

Starting with "35 years of German unity" and "75 years of the Basic Law", Lammert recalled the spirit of optimism after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, when many believed that the systemic question had been decided in favor of democracy and debates about the "end of history" were doing the rounds. Today, the results are sobering: the number of fully functioning democracies has fallen significantly since the mid-1990s, and less than ten percent of people worldwide live in states that meet a demanding understanding of democracy. According to Prof. Lammert's definition, a democracy only deserves this name if there are regular free elections, genuine personal and programmatic alternatives, fair competition, an effective separation of powers with limited and temporary powers, an independent judiciary and enforceable fundamental rights such as freedom of opinion, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of science and freedom of art.

Why democracies really fail

Looking back on the Weimar Republic, Lammert made it clear that democracies rarely fail because of their constitutional texts. Weimar collapsed less because of legal construction errors than because of serious crises, the weakness of democratic forces and the lack of cohesion among democrats; some historians speak of a "democracy without democrats". Even today, democratic systems are not usually destroyed by military coups or civil wars, but by election results after which non-democratic actors gradually restrict the independence of the courts, the freedom of the media or science - often without visibly changing the constitution.

Finally, Lammert drew the bow to the present. He quoted the historian Timothy Snyder, who described Germany as currently the most important functioning democracy, and recalled Barack Obama's statement that democracy is particularly at risk when people take it for granted. Germany is historically one of the "lucky few" who live in a democratic system based on the rule of law - but this will only remain the case if enough citizens take responsibility, vote, get involved in parties, associations and initiatives and defend democratic values in their everyday lives. This is precisely what the "Democracy thrives on participation!" series aims to encourage, addressing different facets of democracy and encouraging active participation.

After the lecture, the audience had the opportunity to ask Prof. Lammert questions in the auditorium, moderated by Prof. Dorothee Dzwonnek, Chair of the Association's Board of Directors. A lively dialog ensued with the audience.