Today, democracies around the world are under increased national and international pressure. Trust in democratic actors and institutions is declining, while right-wing populist movements and authoritarianism are on the rise. This is shifting political discourse to the right and threatening democratic values.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is committed to fostering democracy, the rule of law, equality, and civic education. We want to enhance the involvement of civil society expertise in political decision-making and open up more opportunities for direct participation in the political process. Political advice and British-German dialogues are key instruments in our promotion of democracy.

Discussions around democracy are an integral part of FES UK’s work. In recent years, we have worked on projects on citizens’ assemblies, the (non-)representation of certain social groups in Parliament, and tackling the right-wing populist push to retrovert gender relations.

In our efforts to strengthen and sustain democracy, we also work closely with our Democracy of the Future office in Vienna. Together, we seek democratic solutions to the social problems faced by the UK.