In this episode we sat down with Anniina leiviskä and Tuija Kasa to discuss the current state of Democracy. Anniina Leiviskä, Associate Professor at the University of Oulu, studies the role of education in addressing polarization and strengthening democratic dialogue. Tuija Kasa, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, has just completed her doctoral dissertation Unveiling Injustices, where she argues that the lack of Human Rights Education poses a real threat to democracy. Leiviskä and Kasa have also co-authored the book: Democratic Education in the age of Polarisation (Gaudeamus 2025).
Together, we explore pressing questions: What are the core values we should safeguard in democratic societies? Can democracy exist without strong protections for human rights? How can education respond to polarization, populism, and the exclusion of marginalized voices? And should we look beyond Western models for inspiration to build a more inclusive democracy?
You can listen to the Visions of a Better World podcast here.
