Our curated library is packed full of knowledge, know-how and best practices in the fields of democracy and culture.
Read the latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other critical world events in our library of democratic content. Gathered from trusted international sources, the curated library brings you a rich resource of articles, opinion pieces and more on democracy and culture to keep you updated.
Take a look at curated library below and search by keyword (i.e. Ukraine or authoritarianism) or format (i.e. article or report) and find a tailored list of resources on the topics you're most interested in.
Shifts in Support for Authoritarianism and Democracy in the Western Balkans
"The countries of the Western Balkans have experienced more than a decade of democratic backsliding. Analysis of survey results revealed that these trends were accompanied also by substantial changes in citizens’ political attitudes. The support for a strong political leader has noticeably increased, while support for democracy has suffered a substantial decline" (Lavrič and Bieber, 2020).
Hope for a sea-change: Why multilateralism must reshape the world after COVID-19
The Elders have published a new report in defence of multilateralism to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations. Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has starkly exposed the vulnerabilities and faultlines of our interconnected world, The Elders call on world leaders to recognise that global challenges like pandemics, climate change and nuclear proliferation require global solutions.
Deliberation, Citizen Science and Covid-19
This article details the need for deliberative democratic actions to be redesigned to involve both citizens and experts to deepen participation and foster both inclusion and expert guidance in decision-making. The advantages of deliberative democratic exercises in this format is contextualized by examining the United Kingdom government’s response to Covid-19.
Reopening the World: How the Pandemic is Reinforcing Authoritarianism
This report looks at the impact of Covid in authoritarianism and democracy, finding that “during—and after—the pandemic, governments are likely to use long, protracted crises to undermine domestic opposition and curtail civil liberties” and determining that Covid-19 is reopening conflict between the use of democracy and authoritarianism (Hamid 2020).
Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions: Catching the Deliberative Wave
This article explains how the "deliberative wave" has been gaining momentum and explores reasons “for embedding deliberative activities into public institutions to give citizens a more permanent and meaningful role in shaping the policies affecting their lives” (Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions: Catching the Deliberative Wave, OECD Publishing).
The Athenian Plague, A Cautionary Tale
“The plague reminds us that the legacy of the eternal “wonder” of Athens contains within it a cautionary tale: the failure of democratic society to cope with a lethal epidemic. The model of how democracy began is also a study in how it can founder and fall” (Gary Bass, 2020).
The future of work in Europe
Beyond COVID-19, automation, migration and shrinking labor supply are shifting the geography of employment
Reconstructing American News: Investing In The Transformation Of Journalistic Processes And Power Relations To Strengthen Civil Society
In a sort of return “to the trauma of the late '60s, with a pandemic added...Newsrooms across the nation are...having fierce internal debates about what constitutes good coverage and staffing”. Preparedness for “these conversations often relies on the level of transparency and...innovation” (Clark and Donnelly, 2020).
Free Expression, Harmful Speech, and Censorship in a Digital World
Freedom of expression brings the spread of “false, offensive, harmful” content. “As more aspects of our lives increasingly move online, we must contend with operating in a digital public square owned by private entities...where freedom of expression falls...under emergent standards being shaped by technology companies” (Knight Foundation, 2020).
Big Tech and Covid 19
“With recent calls for nationalising Amazon during lockdown, and the weaponisation of Facebook amidst the spread of the 5G conspiracy theory, the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the heightened power that big tech holds” (Williams and Forooha, 2020).
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