Global Forum on Democracy and Development

The Global Forum Model

The project operates through four regional hubs in Bogotá, Budapest, Cape Town, and Colombo. These hubs act as fertile grounds for research incubation and the creation of new teaching modules and materials. Each hub further connects with a network of universities, research centers, and think tanks in their respective continents, fostering multidisciplinary discourse on democracy and development. In addition, the hubs actively engage in public exchanges and policy dialogues, facilitating a holistic understanding of the challenges at hand and promoting collaborative solutions.

The four regional hubs are anchored in distinct themes: Cape Town examines “Democratizing the Developmental State,” Colombo focuses on “Exclusionary Regimes, Autocratization and Democracy,” Bogotá explores “New Patterns of Mobilizations for and against Democracy,” and Budapest investigates “Populism, Ideology, and Discourse in the Global South: Sources of Polarization and their Mitigation." These four research themes raise policy-relevant questions concerning billions of people in the Global South and the Global North. The answers to these questions that arise over upcoming decades will determine the nature of political and economic regimes in the 21st century. They will also set the parameters for democratic resilience and revitalization.