Dear ,
Fifteen years ago, Democracy International was formally founded as an association. Yet the idea behind it was older than the organisation itself: the conviction that democracy must not stop at borders, institutions, or routines. Democracy must remain alive, participatory, and capable of renewal.
From the beginning, Democracy International has been built on three interconnected ambitions.
Our first ambition is learning from one another. Democratic participation can only grow where knowledge grows. Across continents, citizens have developed remarkably diverse forms of direct and participatory democracy, from referendums and citizens’ initiatives to deliberative assemblies and participatory budgeting. Too often, these experiences remain isolated within national debates. Democracy International seeks to connect them. Through conferences, research, campaigns, and especially the Direct Democracy Navigator, we have created spaces where civil society, researchers, and activists can learn from one another and better understand the evolving landscape of democratic participation worldwide.
Our second ambition is solidarity across borders. Democratic stagnation rarely comes from a lack of ideas. More often, it comes from entrenched structures, institutional inertia, and the quiet force of the status quo. Citizens and civil society movements in many countries face similar obstacles when trying to expand participation and democratic accountability. Democracy International is a place where these struggles can be shared, where experiences can travel across borders, and where democratic reformers can support one another with practical knowledge, courage, and international visibility.
Our third ambition is perhaps the most ambitious: advancing democracy beyond the nation state itself. In an interconnected world, political decisions increasingly transcend borders - but democratic participation often does not. Democracy International therefore advocates not only for stronger democracy within states, but also for transnational democracy, especially in Europe. The European Citizens’ Initiative was an important milestone on this path. Yet the broader vision remains unfinished: democratic participation must evolve wherever political power exists - including at the European and ultimately the global level.
Much has changed in these fifteen years. Democracy itself faces growing pressure worldwide. Polarisation, authoritarian tendencies, disinformation, and geopolitical instability challenge democratic societies everywhere.
And yet, the core insight that inspired Democracy International remains unchanged: democracy cannot be reduced to periodic elections alone. It thrives when citizens participate, deliberate, cooperate across borders, and shape the political systems that govern their lives.
Democracy is never finished. It is a shared human project - one that each generation must rediscover, defend, and further develop.
That task remains as urgent today as ever. |
