Stories

Member Story
Shadows of the Past: How Soviet Inferiority Narratives Hinder Democracy in Moldova and Ukraine
Post-Soviet countries like Ukraine and Moldova are deeply influenced by inferiority narratives — pervasive beliefs of national inadequacy rooted in Soviet-era legacies. This article examines how these narratives shape...
IDC Theme of the Month
From Backsliding to Breakthrough: Civil Society as Democracy's Last Line of Defence
Democracy does not vanish overnight; instead, it erodes step by step. Authoritarianism grows in the cracks, but so does civic resistance. Around the world, civil society is proving that when democratic institutions weaken,...
Ukraine
Future elections and local direct democracy in Ukraine: interview with...
In Country in focus, Democracy International takes a closer look at advances in modern direct democracy and...
Photo courtesy of @Sima Ghaffarzadeh, Pexels from Canva Pro https://www.canva.com/
Ukraine
Country in focus: Ukraine. What about direct democracy?
In Country in focus, Democracy International takes a closer look at advances in modern direct democracy and...
Bulgaria
3 generations of Bulgarians have not made a direct and final decision:...
Daniela Bozhinova, a Board Member of Democracy International, is a democracy researcher, activist, writer and...
Brazil
A letter from Brazil: The Participatory Budget Programme
One of the world’s great democratic innovations is about to make a big comeback in the place where it was...
Germany
The people of Berlin have decided - but in the end, nothing has been...
It is a rainy August day in 2022, I am standing on the Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin, a landmark of the city and...
PODCAST: Patterns of Democracy
Global
PODCAST: Patterns of Democracy
   
Picture by DI
European Union
The power of youth
While Democracy International is losing its most senior colleague Klaus Hofmann, as an association we’re also...
USA
Michigan citizens take matters into their own hands
When the US Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade in June 2022 and removed the federal provision to protect...
Mexico
The Global Forum in Mexico – Hands off our democracy!
From 27 February until 7 March the 2023 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy took place in Mexico and was...
Taiwan
The Taiwanese democracy rollercoaster
Democracy in Taiwan can feel like a rollercoaster ride. It goes up and it goes down, at the same time.