Democratic Backsliding Conference

Summary —

Over the last decade, a regressive political turn has occurred in many countries and regions of the world, a phenomenon many scholars call ‘democratic backsliding’: a deterioration in the norms, institutions and practices we associate with modern democratic governance.

What can actors, organizations and governments do, independently and in concert with others, to stem democratic backsliding in the short term and reverse its trajectory over the medium to long term?

This conference brings together scholars, practitioners and policymakers to discuss key dimensions of this pivotal challenge and to develop practical strategies capable of addressing them. It contributes to the activities of a wider democracy network, Renewing our Democratic Alliance (RODA), established by the CIC and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in 2021, which aims to strengthen cooperation scholars and practitioners in civil society, the public service and political office in Canada and Germany to address key challenges facing liberal democracies. The academic papers commissioned for the conference analyze specific dimensions of democratic backsliding, their causes and conditions, and explore concrete measures that various actors might take to address it. The policy memos solicited for the conference will advocate specific proposals a range of actors can take in a clearly defined timeframe.