Global civil society faces increasingly severe and existential threats. The tribulations of civil society organisations (CSOs) have been multiplying over the last decade and are currently intensifying at an alarming speed and scale.

Regimes’ tactics now go well beyond a few ad hoc funding restrictions and in many cases menace the whole notion of an independent civic sphere between individual citizens and the state. 

The panel will debate new ways to protect civic space and ensure that independent civil society is not driven out of global politics.

Security has become a defining priority in Europe, yet efforts to strengthen it often come at the expense of democracy. Despite strong evidence that democracy underpins peace and resilience, it is still treated as secondary, especially in times of crisis, when civic space shrinks, and executive power expands.

This tension is increasingly visible in debates on defence spending and the EU’s long-term budget, raising urgent questions about how to balance security with sustained support for democratic governance.

This session examines a central question: is today’s democratic malaise primarily a crisis of representation or a crisis of delivery? One diagnosis points to a widening gap between citizens and their representatives,which leaves many feeling unheard or excluded. The alternative view argues that dissatisfaction stems less from who governs than from how governance performs.

This session aims to create a structured space to reflect on how democracy support is being featured within the Africa-EU partnership, ensuring coherence between high-level political commitments, financial instruments, and implementation on the ground.

While there is growing consensus around the need for sovereign or public-interest digital infrastructure in the EU, there is much less clarity on what democratic governance and ownership models could underpin them, and how public policy could incentivise such models without mandating them.

The session would explore what alternative governance structures for tech and digital infrastructure exist or could be imagined, drawing on examples from public-private partnerships and mixed-ownership models in tech and other sectors. It would also examine how EU policy tools, such as public procurement or innovation funding, could help create the conditions for their development in support of democratic and innovation goals.

This breakout session explores how art and “artivism” function as part of democracy’s protective infrastructure, highlighting how creative expression can defend freedoms, mobilise citizens, counter disinformation, and signal democratic resilience – while censorship of artists often reflects broader democratic decline. Through speaker reflections and interactive group work, the session will examine both the risks faced by cultural actors and the practical ways democracy support organisations can engage with the arts sector to strengthen civic space and social cohesion.

Registrations for this session are closed