Following the unprecedented number of elections in 2024, the geopolitical context for reversing the downward global trend in democracy looks more difficult than ever. At this pivotal time in March 2025, this Wilton Park event in Nairobi explored opportunities for continuing international cooperation to revitalise democratic governance. This is essential to support global efforts to address policy challenges that matter to people.
Themes discussed were:
Current context and trends of international cooperation around democracy
Democracy as a pathway to economic growth, climate action and security
Participation and power dynamics within international cooperation structures
Options for international democracy cooperation going forward.
There is scope for relative celebration in that, despite fragmentation in recent decades, democracy has still survived. However, the context for international cooperation on democracy has shifted significantly in the past year, and challenges accelerated in 2025. 72% of people now live in autocracies and the risk that democracy will die in isolation” is growing. Deepening the commitment to democracy will depend on the ability of democratic governments to deliver tangible benefits for all, communicate this convincingly, and proactively adapt to evolving geopolitical dynamics – working together to address common challenges.
One starting point is the overwhelming evidence that democratic governance contributes to delivery across all current policy priorities including security, growth and the climate crisis. Those contributions range from complementing military deployments with actions to resolve conflicts peacefully, through stronger accountability and transparency in public financial management, to more sustainable societal commitments to climate mitigation and adaptation.
There is also scope for responding to unmet demand for direct public engagement in governance. Young people, particularly in the Global South, are mobilising through digital platforms, yet they remain largely excluded from formal policy discussions.
Significant barriers to women’s political representation persist, including financial and structural. Simultaneously, globalisation – and now geopolitics – has limited national decision-making power, necessitating new thinking.
The landscape of international democracy support is rapidly evolving. Different cooperation models – bilateral, multilateral, and plurilateral – offer varied opportunities for coordinating democracy support, with regional partnerships proving particularly effective. However, shifting geopolitical dynamics, including the reduced role of traditional democracy promoters, highlight the need for leadership from the Global South, where many promising democracy innovations are taking place. Combined with longstanding demands for global governance reform, this could play a key role in shaping a new global democracy architecture.
In this time of poly-crisis and an accelerating reversal of democracy, it is crucial that we take urgent action to address the threats from populism, nationalism, authoritarianism, and the spread of disinformation. Addressing these threats requires a more positive narrative on the importance of democracy and creating effective international coordination through new and existing forums. Options exist to take the next steps – those concerned about the future of democracy just need to action them.
Context for international democracy cooperation
The idea that "democracy dies in isolation" underscores the importance of strong international collaboration to address global challenges now. In varying degrees, democracy has been on the agenda of many international forums or processes including the United Nations (UN), the African Union, the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe, and the Organisation of American States. There have also been cornerstone events such as the Biden Administration’s Summit for Democracy (S4D), and Indonesia’s Bali Democracy Forum (BDF). But there has been a gradual lessening of strategic focus on democracy and a growing space for autocratic voices and action around the world. This Wilton Park dialogue specifically considered how democracies can coordinate better, and what the framework(s) for this could look like.
There was a widely supported view that a ‘fourth wave’ of democracy was needed, embracing all regions of the world and affecting local, regional and national levels of government. Achieving this requires:
Strengthening electoral integrity: Democracy is dependent on free and fair elections. Measures such as regional coordination on electoral management, policies on electoral technology, and youth inclusion in elections can enhance electoral integrity. International cooperation has played an essential role in strengthening electoral processes, with organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) providing training and monitoring support.
Identifying democratic champions: Historically, figures in various capacities, including heads of state and civil society leaders, have played a vital role in championing democracy. It is therefore imperative to identify effective leaders at various levels – including those from the Global South acting at the global level – who can play key roles in advancing democratic governance. This should include influential local leaders, such as faith/religious leaders, who are often not considered enough as relevant conduits for this work. Leveraging groups such as The Elders for democratic advocacy supports intergenerational dialogue and stability.
Engaging the private sector and other actors: Despite scepticism regarding the democratic commitments of some business actors, the private sector can be involved in democratic processes to ensure economic and political stability. Notably, the private sector now provides a lot of government services. They are a significant grouping when looking at a whole society approach to strengthening democracy.
Youth participating in governance: Young people also have a crucial role to play, although their engagement with traditional democratic structures, such as political parties and electoral processes, remains limited. Addressing their concerns about the impact of their participation is vital to fostering their involvement in democratic governance – they need a seat at the table and to feel that they will see positive change as a result. Strategies must be developed to encourage meaningful participation beyond conventional structures, including harnessing willingness to creatively use technology and grassroots organising to have their voices heard.
Tackling anti-democratic forces: Although anti-democratic forces are not homogenous, they have coordinated their narratives and are learning tactics from each other to undermine democratic principles. Democratic actors should also share best practices and collectively support each other visibly on norms. Democracies have been on the backfoot, batting away criticisms, rather than proactively championing their tenets whilst still being open to criticism.
Pooling resources: With resources increasingly scarce, democratic actors should reduce duplication and increase coordination to maximise the impact on democracy support goals. This includes sharing technical and technological capacity.