The report identifies 10 key challenges and emerging trends impacting European democratic systems and suggests future policy options. These challenges are structured across three interconnected levels: citizens and societal dynamics, the information and knowledge environment, and institutions and the democratic system. This framework aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated view of democracy as a connected ecosystem, emphasising how challenges in one area can affect the entire system. Recognising this interconnectivity is crucial for addressing these challenges and ensuring democratic resilience.

From the citizens’ perspective, a shift towards latent support for non-democratic governance has been seen, partly due to representation gaps affecting social groups like young people. This can diminish institutional trust and weaken democratic support, evident in declining voter turnout, rising populism and increased polarisation. The weakening of democratic norms could lead to confrontation-focused political culture, increasing instability. Addressing democratic disillusionment is vital to prevent drastic changes in political attitudes, and deliberative processes offer potential for revitalisation, although they must emphasise diversity and inclusivity.

The information landscape has been transformed by social media, challenging citizens’ ability to access accurate information and exacerbating divisions. Technological advancements, particularly AI, could further amplify these issues, potentially decreasing trust in experts and institutions. Democratic institutions themselves are facing declines in quality, including in respect of electoral integrity and the rule of law, while facing risks from coordinated efforts of global autocracies to undermine EU democracies. To build resilience, institutions must earn citizens’ trust, as it underpins political agency and democratic effectiveness. Countering the erosion of this trust is crucial, as it is a key for democracy’s adversaries.

The ten challenges identified are grouped as follows.

Citizens and changing societal dynamics:

1. erosion of citizen support for democracy;

2. emergence of new and widened representation gaps;

3. increasing erosion of democratic social norms;

4. unfulfilled potential of deliberative and other participatory processes.

The information and knowledge environment:

5. increasing fragmentation of the public sphere;

6. living in a world of increasing doubt.

Institutions and the democratic system:

7. a more subtle erosion of democratic quality;

8. increasing transnational cooperation of illiberal actors and autocratic states;

9. illiberal policy spillover and the deterioration of civil and political rights;

10. looking into the future with short-sighted vision.

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