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On 1 December 2021, International IDEA’s Council of Member States (chaired by Australia) unanimously approved the membership request from the Republic of Estonia. Estonia joins the organization as its 34th Member State.

The 2021 Summit for Democracy is a unique opportunity to remind us that democracy is “government of the people, by the people, for the people”.

The 2021 Women Constitution-Makers’ Dialogue focused on comparative experiences with constitutions, customary and religious law, and gender equality.

Democracy is at risk. Its survival is endangered by a perfect storm of threats, both from within and from a rising tide of authoritarianism.

Many democratic governments are increasingly adopting authoritarian tactics, accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic, while autocratic regimes are consolidating their power.

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For more than a decade, a majority of Europe’s established democracies have seen the quality of their democracies stagnate—or even decline—rather than improve. Some show the clear erosion of democratic processes and fundamental rights; several have deteriorated to the point where they can hardly be qualified as democracies any longer. The arrival of the Covid-19 global health crisis has added to the strain.

International IDEA’s Annual Review of Constitution-Building Processes: 2020 provides a retrospective account of constitutional reform processes around the world and from a comparative perspective, and their implications for national and international politics.

Against a background of deteriorating informational environments, falling trust in state institutions and growing electoral result disputation, electoral processes and those who administer them are increasingly being placed under the microscope.

As part of a  series entitled Conversations on Innovative Constitutional Design Options, International IDEA’s Constitution Building Programme hosted an expert panel to discuss “Constitutionalizing Institutions for a Safer Environment” on 16 September 2021. The webinar deliberated on the role of constitut

The Secretary-General of International IDEA, Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, took part in the “Constitutionalizing Institutions for a Safer Environment webinar organized by the Institute’s Constitution-Building Programme on 16 September 2021. The event was part of the programme’s new webinar series on Conversations on Innovative Constitutional Design Options.

In Moldova’s recent parliamentary elections, social media formed a prominent environment for election campaigning. To promote transparency and ultimately the integrity of the electoral process, International IDEA supported a Moldovan democracy watchdog MediaPoint and its partner, a Slovenian non-profit media monitoring agency MEMO98 in monitoring social media during the early parliamentary elections in July 2021.

An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on Monday shows, with clear and overwhelming scientific evidence, that climate change is a looming, existential threat for our planet. The massive climate changes that we are all starting to experience, from wildfires to extreme temperatures, are also a threat for democracy.

International IDEA, in collaboration with Athens Democracy Forum, International Youth Think Tank and Stockholm Philanthropy Symposium, hosted the Almedalen Democracy Summit on 7 July 2021.

Public participation has become a core element of modern constitution-building. The question for leaders charged with designin

International IDEA’s Secretary-General, Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, took part in a high-level panel on 9 June 2021 on the challenges and opportunities for governance in times of democratic backsliding. The event was organized by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) as part of its Governance Week and the broader Governance Network Journey.

How can democracies better act when facing future health crises?

There’s no denying that money plays an important role in politics. However, if the flow of money in politics, commonly known as political finance, is not well regulated, the danger is that this can mean that influence and political power are concentrated in the hands of a select few. There are already several systemic, cultural, educational, and legal barriers to the inclusion of women, people with disabilities, LGBTI individuals and young people in politics.

Collaborating for women’s empowerment and inclusion: Senior experts and actors of change put heads together in a cross-sectoral dialogue

#SheLeadsEU

The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics iknowpolitics.org) is a joint project of International IDEA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

The design of a ballot paper is important. The ballot conveys the voter’s intentions and political choices: a good design presents clear and understandable options to voters and reduces the chances of voter error. But beyond this utilitarian function, the ballot carries a powerful symbolic value of the compact between the citizen and the state, or, more simply put: ‘my vote matters’.