Global democracy crisis, local resilience: An international panel

Democracy is in retreat globally — according to V-Dem, only 7% of the world’s population now lives in a liberal democracy. Even established democracies are not immune: several EU countries were among those flagged as backsliding in V-Dem’s 2025 report.

The European Commission has responded with its “European Democracy Shield” to counter disinformation, AI-driven manipulation, and declining institutional trust across the EU.

At a time when images, voices, and news are increasingly fake, another figure is equally troubling: a new survey shows that half of all people under 50 in Sweden hold back from expressing their views on society, out of fear of the consequences.

Join this international panel to hear what a global crisis in democracy actually demands at the local level: how do we turn silence into resilience? What are communities across Europe already doing about it? And what can we learn in Sweden from other countries?