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,...
Photo by Roberto Rivera
Mexico
A Letter from Mexico City: Can Polarization Build Democracy?
What does polarization mean, here in Mexico? There are no democracies without some kind of polarization,...
Ireland
Is a woman's place in the home?
In celebration of international woman’s day that took place on the 8th of March 2023, this month’s story...
Mexico
A Letter from Mexico City: Can Polarization Build Democracy?
Too Often Disagreement Means Enmity. But Bridging Extremes Is the Best Bet for Our Future By Javier González
Mexico
Voices of democracy in Mexico and Switzerland
Participatory democracy is still in its early days in Mexico, whereas Switzerland has longstanding experience...
Global
New in the Community: Atlas Movement
We are excited to introduce Atlas Movement as one of the members of the International Community. Atlas is the...
PODCAST: Current Developments of Direct Democracy in Germany
Germany
PODCAST: Current Developments of Direct Democracy in Germany
   
Slovakia
Failed referendums and direct democracy in Slovakia
On 21 January 2023, for the 9th time since the country’s independence in 1993, citizens were called to vote...
European Union
Conference on the Future of Europe, but actually make it inclusive
Since 2019, we have reported extensively on the developments around the Conference on the Future of Europe,...
Scotland
A Road to Independence
In 1998, with the Scotland Act, the Parliament of the United Kingdom established the modern Scottish...
Global
Can we trust citizens to organise our power utilities through direct...
There is  a growing trend of remunicipalisation of utilities worldwide - citizens at local and regional...