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LKI was honoured to have Professor Norbert Lammert, President of the German Bundestag, deliver a lecture on “The Future of Liberal Democracy in International Relations” on 4 April 2017. The lecture was preceded by an address by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, and was followed by a brief question and answer session.

In his lecture, Hon. Prof. Lammert argued that purely national solutions are inadequate to resolve the challenges of our times. The needs and challenges of our communities would be more effectively addressed through international cooperation and agreements. He maintained that with US policy becoming unreliable in terms of global direction, the principles of liberal democracy have never been more valuable. Hon. Prof. Lammert emphasised that ‘nation-states’ are becoming a phenomenon of the past, as we move forward into a more integrated world and become into a global society. At the same time, since it is unlikely that the global community will evolve into a “global state,” we must cooperate to address gaps in between existing and absent structures and ensure the good governance.

The lecture was preceded by an address by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, and was followed by a brief question and answer session. Among the topics addressed by the Foreign Minister were the German experience with liberalism, the democratic leadership that Germany provides in the world, and Sri Lanka’s strides in restoring the rule of law and other cornerstones of a liberal democracy.

For the audio of the lecture click here.

For the audio of Hon. Mangala Samaraweera’s introductory address, click here.

Thank you to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the German Embassy in Colombo for their assistance in organising this event.