Democracy

Election-related disinformation is reshaping democracies across Africa. This study examines how fake content spread during elections in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal fuels distrust, exploits divisions, and skews public perception.

Worldwide, democracy is under pressure. In this edition of the magazine Böll.Thema we introduce people who inspire us with their commitment to democratic values. Because without dedication and action, there can be no democracy. And without democracy, everything is for naught.

In his book, author Vedran Horvat takes a personal journey through the last two decades of politics in the Western Balkans and sheds light on the potential of green politics under extremely difficult conditions.

This policy paper investigates the trend towards authoritarian elections in mainland Southeast Asia – in Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar – with a focus on the right to political participation.

This e-paper is written based on interviews conducted with young activists, journalists, human rights defenders and academics from Afghanistan (all under the age of 35), who have been actively involved in the process of democratisation and committed to liberal values over the past 20 years in Afghanistan; it highlights the twenty years of achievements by Afghan youth and explores their hurdles and challenges under the rule of the Taliban’s de facto regime.

Young advocates for democracy are campaigning against the surveillance state and the internet "gateway" to control inappropriate websites and the flow of information from the rest of the world to Thailand. The election win of the Future Forward Party (FFP) shows how Thailand's active young generation is moving from the Internet to the ballot box.

Disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation pollute the information space worldwide and the trend of manipulating facts continues to disrupt public communication and, consequently, democratic processes in societies. The aim of this paper is to investigate the phenomena of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, as well as their impact on the political sphere. In addition, the paper attempts to explain the harmful influence of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation on public debates, democratic processes, and civil society engagement.

Is the delivery of human rights a consequential outcome of liberal democracy? This paper explores the role of human rights in democracy, and specifically whether human rights is a necessary ingredient for its sustenance.