Exchange to Change January 2017 | Page 14

14 INTERVIEW

seen that firsthand in this election. However, I am still optimistic about the future of American democracy. We have a strong system of checks and balances to protect our democratic values, as well as an independent press corps and millions of citizens dedicated to ensuring the safety of our democracy.

E2C: Do you think that the practice of democracy“ at home” affects US efforts for democracy promotion in other countries? In other words, how well do you think the US“ practices what it preaches” when it comes to democracy?

KL: Democracy often means accepting an unfavorable outcome; even in this extremely polarized and high-stakes election, all candidates peacefully conceded and accepted the results, which is a crucial part of a functioning democracy. In this election, we saw numerous attempts to subvert democracy. Foreign actors hacked and released the emails of Hillary Clinton’ s campaign staff, exposing the Democratic National Committee’ s partisan role in the Democratic primaries. Our democracy isn’ t perfect, but the election of Trump does not prove to me that democracy isn’ t working well at home; it proves the opposite. Despite all the attempts to stop his candidacy by the leadership of both parties, the American people chose him. And although I disagree with their choice, it shows me that our democracy is still in our hands.

E2C: Which result surprised you most: Brexit, Trump or the rejection of the Colombian peace agreement? Why?

KL: I found the rejection of the Colombian peace agreement to be extremely surprising. After decades of fighting, many Colombians still chose vengeance( or justice, depending on your perspective) over peace. While Trump and Brexit were undoubtedly shocking, there was no serious risk of violence.

United States elections results: Electoral College Vote

United States elections results: Popular vote

Other 1 %

Other 6 %