A campaign in defense of Democracy to translate and distribute knowledge and ideas from the academic sphere to policymakers and practitioners. Its goal is to actively outline and promote the socio-economic and security benefits inherent in a more democratic world.
The world is currently experiencing a wave of autocratization characterized by increasing executive power, erosion of democratic norms, and a general tendency toward less freedom. One-third of the world’s population – 2.6 billion people – now lives in countries undergoing autocratization.
In light of these challenges to democracies worldwide, the V-Dem Institute, with financial support from the European Union, initiated the “Case for Democracy” program. Its goals are to:
The evidence of the dividends of democracy on several key areas is collated in eight Policy Briefing Papers. Read and Download:
The “Case for Democracy” program has so far featured two main events: The Case for Democracy hybrid Brussels Conference 2021, and the Case for Democracy Webinar Week 2021.
From November 30th to December 1st, 2021, 26 scholars and over 400 policymakers and practitioners participated in a hybrid onsite/virtual conference held in Brussels on the Case for Democracy. Scholars presented scientific evidence on the dividends of democracy across six broad areas:
Day 1:
Day 2:
The final conference program is available here. You can watch the full Conference on YouTube using the links below:
This report summarizes key findings and discussions from the Case for Democracy Conference in Brussels. Read and download here.
From March 22–25, 2021 this week featured five 1.5-hour webinars bringing together academics and policymakers in a dialogue based on state-of-the art scientific findings on the dividends of democracy for a series of development outcomes. The webinars are found on YouTube using the links below: