How 105 citizens helped shape the world's food and climate agenda

Randomly chosen global citizens from 60 countries met online in a civic assembly and agreed on policy recommendations in the field of food systems and climate change.

democracywithoutborders.org

Trouble in the “Ocean of Peace” points to a Pacific Islands Community

A strengthened regional framework could help Pacific island states enhance democratic governance, coordinate security, and better respond to shared challenges.

democracywithoutborders.org

Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly

For democratic representation at the United Nations Global decisions, and global failure to act, shape people’s lives and the future of humanity. Yet the United Nations, the world’s central forum for ...

unpacampaign.org

Lawmakers urge UN to establish independent democracy mandate

Parliamentarians for Global Action backs a proposed UN Special Rapporteur to monitor democratic governance, address backsliding, and promote good practices.

democracywithoutborders.org

Civil society declaration warns UN goals are off track, urges reforms

Civil society groups outline recommendations on civic space, economic justice, rule of law, peacebuilding, human rights and UN reform, including the possible creation of a parliamentary UN body.

democracywithoutborders.org

How the rise of autocracies is reshaping global governance

This article explains how autocracies are reshaping global governance through institutional drift, informal cooperation and domestic backlash, and how democracies can react to defend liberal norms and...

democracywithoutborders.org

Report warns attacks on workers’ rights are weakening democracy

Labour rights are under mounting pressure worldwide, with the United States added to a watchlist and violations reported in most countries surveyed in the 2026 Global Rights Index.

democracywithoutborders.org

UN reform advances with deep cuts amid calls for a broader debate

Guterres’ UN80 update outlines efficiency measures and mandate reforms, while experts warn that austerity sidelines human rights, participation and democratic renewal.

democracywithoutborders.org

Former NATO chief proposes D7 format for middle power democracies

In the proposed D7 format, Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK and other democracies could cooperate on trade, technology and security and jointly counter authoritarian ...

democracywithoutborders.org

Survey finds rising support for global solidarity and cooperation

The Global Solidarity Report 2026 finds more people identify as world citizens, support tax funding for global problems and back enforcement powers for international institutions.

democracywithoutborders.org

Survey: democracy remains popular, but citizens expect better results

The 2026 Democracy Perception Index report covers views from 94,000 respondents in 98 countries on democracy, country direction, security and global cooperation.

democracywithoutborders.org

The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled

Access Now, the group that organizes RightsCon, says Zambian officials asked it to exclude Taiwanese participants if it wanted the event to proceed as planned.

wired.com

Zambia's cancellation of RightsCon sparks alarm and condemnation

The Zambian government's last-minute move to stop RightsCon 2026 in Lusaka draws sharp criticism from rights groups and raises concerns over civic space and foreign influence.

democracywithoutborders.org

Authoritarian states keep collaborating to target dissidents abroad

A Freedom House report finds that at least 54 governments have engaged in targeting dissidents abroad in 2025, in particular in Southeast Asia and East Africa.

democracywithoutborders.org

It’s the end of internet anonymity as we know it (and I don’t feel fine)

Online identity checks risk becoming a dangerous slippery slope, making it easier for governments to erode anonymous speech and chill dissent under the guise of safety or accountability.

democracywithoutborders.org

Why middle-powers will not save the international “rules based order”

Democracies should not assume middle powers are natural allies, since many are autocracies that do not share their interests, goals, and values, the authors argue.

democracywithoutborders.org

Artemis II: a planetary perspective for a new generation

Artemis II’s striking images of Earth from lunar distance revive awe in space exploration while revealing our planet as a fragile, borderless world that calls for shared responsibility, argues Ian Cra...

democracywithoutborders.org

Democracy stabilizes globally after eight years of decline, EIU says

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, among the 167 countries and territories covered, almost three quarters either improved from 2024 to 2025 or remained unchanged.

democracywithoutborders.org

Repressive states secure most seats on UN's NGO Committee

The UN's ECOSOC elected 19 states to the UN NGO Committee for 2027 to 2030. Freedom House rates only five as free, while eight are not free, raising concerns over authoritarian influence in the body.

democracywithoutborders.org

Global freedom declined for two consecutive decades: Freedom House

In the new assessment, among 195 countries and 13 territories covered in the report, 89 were considered “free”, 52 “partly free” and 67 “not free” in 2025. Overall, 54 deteriorated and 35 improved.

democracywithoutborders.org

Online democracy education can work, new evidence shows

Research across 33 countries shows that short online civic education videos can boost support for democracy, improve knowledge, and reduce openness to authoritarian alternatives.

democracywithoutborders.org

Reimagining Global Cooperation

On this page we highlight shared global challenges, cooperation dilemmas and a new vision for global governance.

democracywithoutborders.org

V-Dem report finds global democracy is back at 1978 levels

V-Dem’s 2026 assessment finds that autocracies outnumber democracies by 92 to 87. With 44 countries worsening and 18 improving, the current wave of autocratization is continuing.

democracywithoutborders.org

‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog | Martin Gelin

Sweden’s V-Dem Institute warns that the US is no longer a liberal democracy. And autocracy is creeping across Europe too, says writer Martin Gelin

theguardian.com

Great powers will not save human rights, the rest of us must

As great powers undermine global norms, small and medium states must unite to protect UN human rights bodies, defend scrutiny, and restore political will for principled multilateral action, this artic...

democracywithoutborders.org

New “Tyranny Tracker” maps the world’s authori­tarian regimes

A new index by Human Rights Foundation rates 179 countries as democratic, hybrid or authoritarian, using electoral competition, freedom of dissent, and institutional accountability for regime classifi...

democracywithoutborders.org

Corruption perceptions worsen globally as civic space shrinks

Transparency International’s 2025 corruption perceptions index shows a global average score of 42 of 100 and connects low ratings to restricted civic space in the countries concerned.

democracywithoutborders.org