Global Democracy Coalition Publications
Welcome to the Publications page of the Global Democracy Coalition, your resource for insightful analyses, comprehensive reports, and thought-provoking articles on the state of democracy worldwide. Our featured reports, articles, post Summit and Forum reflections, and more provide in-depth research and actionable recommendations on pressing democratic challenges, along with diverse perspectives and a transparent overview of our impact. Explore our publications to stay informed, inspired, and empowered in the pursuit of a more democratic world.
Global Perspectives: Youth Empowerment Takes Center Stage at the 2024 Generation Democracy Global Summit
The Global Democracy Coalition Fora Report 2024
The Global Democracy Coalition is a network of over 130 democracy organizations worldwide, providing a space to share experiences and strategies for strengthening democracy. At the 2024 Global Democracy Coalition Forum, stakeholders from five regional forums—Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Europe, and a global forum—discussed region-specific challenges and shared solutions. Common themes included the importance of technology in civic engagement, combating disinformation, and fostering youth participation, with each forum emphasizing inclusivity, transparency, and accountability. This report consolidates these discussions, highlighting key insights on topics like the role of technology in civic engagement, combating disinformation, fostering youth participation, and addressing gender gaps. Focused on actionable solutions, the report serves as a roadmap for policymakers, civil society organizations, and democracy advocates to advance inclusive, transparent, and resilient democratic governance globally.
“The Voice and Value of Democracy” – GDC Advocacy Campaign Launched at CDS 2024
The 7th Copenhagen Democracy Summit, held on the 14th and 15th of May, brought allies of democracy from 90 countries to unite in the defence against autocratic forces. The overarching ambition to foster collaboration was reflected by global leaders, activists, frontline democracy fighters, and tech entrepreneurs who took center stage. The impressive lineup of speakers shared their valuable insights, powerful stories, and tangible innovations, inspiring and paving the way for more aligned and resilient democracies.
Global Democracy Coalition Forum 2024 and P4D Highlights
The second Global Democracy Coalition (GDC) Forum was held as a hybrid event in Brussels and Washington, DC from 28 February to 1 March 2023, organized by the GDC steering group and supported by various organizations. Over two days, 100 democracy organizations convened to develop resources and review the Year of Action since the first Summit for Democracy in 2021. The Forum featured five panel sessions, two workshops, and four networking events, with the Youth Cohort launching commitments to enhance youth participation in policymaking. The report summarizes key highlights and recommendations, emphasizing the importance of civil society involvement and the need for a strong, inclusive partnership to counter rising authoritarianism.
GDC Pledges Report 2024
A robust civil society is essential for sustaining democracy, fostering civic education, participatory approaches, and advocacy initiatives. Leveraging civil society’s role is crucial for creating resilient democracies, with its diverse perspectives shaping the global democracy agenda. The Global Democracy Coalition, a network of democracy organizations, has pledged to advance and safeguard democracy worldwide, ahead of the Summits for Democracy in 2023 and 2024. This pledge initiative demonstrates a commitment to democracy and engages various actors in global debates, highlighting the crucial role of civil society and other stakeholders. The report details the 2023 pledges’ metrics and their implementation, and provides an overview of the 2024 pledges and partner contributions.
Global Democracy Coalition Forum 2023 Report
In the evolving landscape of global democracy advocacy, the Global Democracy Coalition (GDC) continues to be a space of collaboration and collective action. Convened by International IDEA and other democracy assistance organizations from around the world, the GDC has evolved since its inception in the fall of 2021. Initially formed to engage constructively with the Summit for Democracy, the Coalition quickly expanded to become a strategic multi-stakeholder alliance comprising over 120 democracy organizations committed to advancing and protecting democracy worldwide. This report provides highlights from the 2024 GDC Forum and Partners for Democracy Day, organized by the GDC.
GDC Pledges 2023
A robust civil society, adept at holding governments accountable, is essential for sustaining democracy. Therefore, organizations within the Global Democracy Coalition, a multi-stakeholder network of democracy organizations, have pledged to advance, strengthen, and safeguard democracy in anticipation of the upcoming third Summit for Democracy. The pledge initiative bolsters GDC’s efforts to cultivate responsible, sustainable, and inclusive democracies, and demonstrates our steadfast commitment to fostering peer-to-peer learning, amplifying the voices of human rights defenders and peacebuilders, and empowering entities and frameworks that champion democracy, justice, equity, and peace.
This document presents the pledges made by Coalition partners in 2023 ahead of the second Summit for Democracy, presented according to the name of the organization.
Views on Continuation of the Summit For Democracy: Summary Report With Observations and Recommendations
In November 2022, the Global Democracy Coalition (GDC) conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) to gather recommendations for the second Summit for Democracy in March 2023. This report builds on those efforts, sharing reflections and options for post-Summit processes, based on input from an online survey, FGDs, and brainstorming sessions. A total of 48 GDC members participated, providing valuable insights and suggestions for the Summit’s future. The recommendations aim to encourage meaningful participation by civil society and other stakeholders, though they represent a range of views and should be considered as proposed suggestions rather than a strict checklist.
GDC’s Recommendations Report for the Second Summit for Democracy
In November 2022, the Coordinators of the Global Democracy Coalition facilitated a series of focus group discussions (FGDs) to gather Coalition members’ recommendations for the Second Summit for Democracy, scheduled for 29–30 March 2023. Twenty-six of the Coalition’s 90 members participated in the sessions, with discussion participants offering a variety of ideas for Summit planners to consider. The FGDs were held before the official announcement of the Summit and should be read with that caveat in mind. The FGDs focused on four primary lines of questions: (1) what does meaningful participation by civil society look like; (2) how can the Summit process be more transparent and accountable; (3) feedback on the commitment process; and (4) the value of cohorts. The recommendations outlined below, if taken up by Summit planners, could help the United States lead by example and set the tone for the importance of civil society in the Summit for Democracy process and discussions on democracy, good governance, human rights, corruption and countering growing authoritarianism.
Recommendations to the Summit for Democracy 2021
The Summit for Democracy, organized by the U.S. on December 9-10, 2021, provided a global platform to discuss and advance democratic governance. On December 7, 2021, the Global Democracy Coalition Forum held a 24-hour virtual event with 41 webinars featuring over 245 experts and leaders from 47 democracy organizations. Topics included elections, women’s political participation, disinformation, transnational repression, corruption, and freedom of expression. Recordings are available online, and the coalition aims to continue its collaborative efforts beyond the 2021 Summit.