Democracy in flux: Trends, Challenges and Inclusive solutions

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and the UNDP Global Policy Centre for Governance (Oslo Governance Centre) have the pleasure of inviting you to our event Democracy in flux: Trends, Challenges and Inclusive solutions.

We are currently witnessing a concerning trend of worldwide backsliding of democratic values. At the same time, we find ourselves at the halfway point to 2030, with progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development being dangerously off-track.

This fall has seen the launch of 2 groundbreaking reports shedding light on these alarming trends and challenges: the inaugural Global Progress Report on SDG16 indicators, showing that progress towards the goal of peaceful, just and inclusive societies is worryingly slow, and International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy Report 2023, revealing that democracy continues to contract across every region of the world.

In this event, we invite you to a deep dive into the findings of these two reports, followed by an expert panel discussion on potential challenges of and solutions to these trends.

More information about the reports

The Global progress report on Sustainable Development Goal 16 indicators presents the latest analysis of data available on SDG 16 indicators. The data in the report reflects that human rights commitments are not being met, violence is increasing, inequality continues to hinder inclusive decision making and corruption erodes the social contract. The report is the first of its kind jointly produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) using data from several UN agencies responsible for the indicators and the SDG Global Database. The findings in the report urge action to reverse the current trend and accelerate the implementation of inclusive strategies and actions towards achieving peaceful, just, and inclusive institutions. 

The Global State of Democracy Report 2023 reveals a global state that is complex, fluid, and unequal. Across every region of the world, democracy has continued to contract, with declines in at least one indicator of democratic performance in half of the countries covered in the Report. Measured in terms of the areas of improvement and decline within each country, 2022 was the sixth consecutive year in which more countries experienced net declines in democratic processes than net improvements. The report assesses democratic change rather than democratic level; measurement of specific aspects of democracy rather than average democratic performance; and explores the nuances of democratic practice rather than general normative labels.