Researchers from the DFG-funded External Democracy Promotion (EDP) network, of which the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) is a member, have published a special issue of the Democratization journal. This edition examines the impact of the current global trend towards autocratisation on efforts to promote democracy. The authors also consider autocratic actors who are competing increasingly with countries that promote democracy. The special issue's findings and recommendations for action form the basis of a recent policy brief published by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
Jonas Wolff, co-coordinator of the EDP network, is one of the authors of the special issue. In an article written with Julia Leininger and Karina Mross (both IDOS), they examine the extent to which governments involved in democratisation have adapted their foreign and development policies strategically to the changed political situation. In their article, 'Strategic responses to autocratisation in international democracy promotion', they analyse Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States — three countries that practise different forms of democracy promotion — and highlight the similarities and differences in their respective political adjustments. The authors conclude that these differences stem from the countries' different conceptual perceptions of autocratisation, their different understandings of democracy, and their different party political constellations.
Case studies on Southeast Europe, the post-Soviet space, and sub-Saharan Africa broaden the regional scope of the special issue. At the same time, they examine the various actors involved in promoting democracy, including political foundations in Germany and EU regional organisations. Other articles focus on the increasing influence of autocratic powers, particularly Russia and China.
Editors Sonja Grimm, Brigitte Weiffen and Karina Mross have identified four strategies that donor countries could adopt in response to the current processes of autocratisation. The first is a wait-and-see approach of 'business as usual'. The second is the intensification of pro-democratic diplomacy. The third is the selective adaptation of foreign and democracy policy concepts, strategies, and policies. The fourth is a significant reduction in democracy promotion efforts, as is currently being observed in the US under Donald Trump. The IDOS Policy Brief emphasises a number of options for adapting democracy promotion to the new context and strengthening the credibility of democracy-promoting actors as an alternative to such a withdrawal.
Availability of special issue and policy brief
The special issue, Democracy Promotion in Times of Autocratization (partially open access), and IDOS Policy Brief 34/2025, “How Democracy Promoters Respond to Global Autocratisation”, are now available online.
About the EDP-Network
Since 2015, the EDP Network has brought together political scientists from Germany and Europe who conduct research at the intersection of international relations and comparative politics. Regular updates on the EDP Network's research, along with articles and commentary, are published on EDP Wire.