17 November 2025: Democracies across the globe are dealing with deepening polarisation, rising extremism, steadily declining trust in institutions and the rapid proliferation of mis- and disinformation.
At a conference co-hosted by the University of Canberra and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Australia and New Zealand, in partnership with the Australian National University/Australian Resilient Democracy Research and Data Network, leading democratic scholars will share new research addressing these issues.
Bouncing Back or Forward? Two Approaches to Democratic Resilience After Extremist Attacks
In a recently published paper from the UC Centre for Deliberative Democracy, researchers investigated the impact of violent extremist attacks on the public sphere.
The research examined notable case studies, including US President George W. Bush’s response to the 11 September 2001 attacks and the accompanying ‘War on Terror’, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s response to the Berlin Christmas Market attack in 2016 and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s response to the mosque attacks in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2019.
“Violent extremist attacks pose a serious threat to democracy and political leaders are widely recognised as the key actors to shape the resulting public discourse, either by reinforcing or resisting the division intended by these attacks,” co-author, Dr Jordan McSwiney said.
“The ways in which political leaders respond to extremist attacks have lasting consequences for democratic resilience.”
Deliberating Climate and Democracy: Lessons from the World’s First Indigenous-Led Climate Assembly
As governments and communities turn to citizens’ assemblies to confront the twin challenges of climate crisis and democratic fatigue, questions remain about whose knowledge and authority shape these processes.
In her paper, Dr Emily Beausoleil from Victoria University of Wellington examines the world’s first Indigenous-led climate assembly, organised by the Māori iwi Ngāti Toa for the city of Porirua in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“Climate assemblies are emerging around the world as responses to two deeply intertwined challenges – the devastation of climate change and the democratic decline marked by falling trust, disengagement, and polarisation,” Dr Beausoleil said.
Her research explores what deliberation looks like when it is guided by Indigenous political authority and grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing.
“As much as assemblies are being held and studied in the global South, the frameworks shaping them are still too often determined by the global North. This assembly challenges that dynamic.”
Dr Beausoleil’s analysis shows how Indigenous-led processes can transform both the design, experience and evaluation of democratic deliberation.
“By upholding Indigenous political authority, we see a different kind of deliberation emerge, one that reframes how communities connect, decide, and act together in response to the climate crisis.”
Can Deliberative Institutions Survive the Far Right (and the Far Left)?
Presenting new research, Dr Melisa Ross from the University of Bremen, investigated whether institutions that enable citizen participation and deliberation, such as community councils and national public policy councils, can survive politically extremist governments.
“The global rise of political extremes invites the question: What happens to deliberative institutions under the far-right and the far-left?” Dr Ross said.
“In Latin America, some far-left governments forfeited democratic norms once elected to strengthen their grasp on power, as in Venezuela and Nicaragua. Since 2016, a ‘conservative turn’ has also brought the far-right to power in Brazil and El Salvador.
“Through exploring these countries, I present resistance and resilience strategies that can protect or support the survival of those institutions during the term of undemocratic leaders.”
Also presenting at the conference, Mr York Albrecht and Dr Maria Skóra from the Institute für Europäische Politik in Berlin share their findings from the RESILIO Project, which explores how European societies can resist democratic backsliding and protect the rule of law.
“Democracy and the rule of law are core pillars of the European Union, but they are under mounting pressure,” they said.
“By identifying the structural, societal, and cultural factors that foster resilience, we aim to strengthen awareness of the risks facing the rule of law and support more constructive, less politicised debates across Europe.”
The Duty to Deliberate Before Armed Conflict
Providing insight into a forthcoming Oxford University Press publication, one of the book’s editors, Professor Ron Levy from the Australian National University, argues the duty of governments to deliberate before – and preferably instead of – armed conflict.
“The multiple authors of the chapter I’m presenting argue for a major revision of international law to incorporate a binding duty for both parties to enter structured deliberations before resorting to armed conflict,” Professor Levy said.
“These deliberative democratic procedures should not be viewed as ‘options’, but as normatively obligatory means of scrutinising the profound decision to commence a campaign of deadly violence.”
Citizen-Led Deliberation for Inclusive Development: Toward Scalable Participatory Policymaking in Nepal
How can policymaking better reflect the needs and aspirations of rural citizens? A new study under the AgriPath explores how citizen-led deliberation can make policymaking in Nepal more inclusive and responsive to rural communities.
Within the consortium, the University of Lausanne led the large-scale deliberation survey, bringing together more than 600 rural citizens in facilitated discussions on agricultural policy. Using simplified policy briefs and animated videos, the process ensured that citizens could meaningfully assess policy options. “We wanted to move beyond tokenistic consultation and see whether citizens could genuinely shape the policies that affect their livelihoods,” Mr Karki said.
To further validate and enrich the findings, iDE Nepal, also part of the consortium, organised a mini-deliberation with over 30 subject-matter experts. This expert session aimed to triangulate insights from the citizen deliberations and expert perspectives ultimately strengthening the reliability and depth of the study’s conclusions.
The outcomes were notable: citizens shifted from favouring short-term subsidies to prioritising long-term investments in training, infrastructure, and agricultural research.
“It showed how structured deliberation can transform both understanding and priorities,” Dr. KC said.
The study highlights the need for locally grounded, inclusive policy design, stronger institutions, and improved agricultural access for marginalised groups.
“When citizens are given the tools and space to deliberate, they don’t just participate—they co-create better policy,” Mr. Karki said.
The three-day conference, Democracy Reimagined: Advancing Democratic Resilience and Renewal will run from 17-19 November 2025. The full conference program can be accessed here.
