What indicators do you believe best reveal whether a democracy is becoming stronger—or weaker?
What do women's rights reveal about the health of a democracy?
According to Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State, they reveal almost everything. Speaking at the World Forum 2026 in Berlin, during the Women's Progress Dialogue, she argued that attacks on women's rights are often the earliest warning signs of democratic decline.
Reflecting on the enduring message of her 1995 Beijing speech—"Women's rights are human rights"—Clinton warned that today's pushback against women's autonomy, equality, and participation is closely tied to the global rise of authoritarianism. When women are excluded from public life, denied opportunities, or stripped of fundamental freedoms, democracy itself is being weakened.
She also stressed the importance of evidence over rhetoric, calling for data-driven measures that track women's progress across education, healthcare, economic opportunity, political participation, and personal safety. For Clinton, measuring the status of women is ultimately a way of measuring the health of democracy itself.
Her message is clear: when women's rights advance, democracy grows stronger. When they are rolled back, democracy is at risk.
Women’s Progress Dialogue
Red Notices for Governments
Women’s Progress Dialogue convened at The World Forum 2026 on 16 February 2026, opened by Secretary Hillary Clinton and brought together former heads of state and government, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, former ministers, parliamentarians, human rights defenders, journalists, democracy activists, women’s rights campaigners, filmmakers, and civil society leaders from across the world. The dialogue examined the global erosion and advancement of women’s rights as a central measure of democratic health, addressing authoritarian repression, gender apartheid, digital misogyny, religious extremism, political exclusion, pay inequality, and the role of AI and social media in pushing women out of public life.
The speakers called for a permanent global mechanism to monitor, measure, and hold governments accountable for women’s progress. Hillary Clinton reminded the audience that “Women’s rights are human rights and human rights are women’s rights.”; Dalia Grybauskaitė said “the battle for women’s rights is a battle for democracy”; Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya declared that “solidarity among women is our strength”; Tzipi Livni emphasized that women must be present in security and political decision-making; Tawakkol Karman warned that “the first struggle for women is to fight dictatorship”; Zarifa Ghafari stated that “democracy is born in resistance”; Věra Jourová called social media “the new enemy”; Maria Alyokhina said “dictators always oppress women”; Tamara Cofman Wittes stressed that “every country needs to make progress”; Sandrine Dixson-Declève warned that “human progress is moving backwards”; Jennifer Cunningham said women must break through “a concrete slab”; Seyran Ateş called for stronger feminist solidarity; Sima Samar said violations of women’s rights are violations of humanity; Rushan Abbas warned that “silence is the oxygen of tyranny”; and Manizha Bakhtari reminded the world not to normalize gender apartheid in Afghanistan. The dialogue concluded with a call to establish an annual global women’s progress report, a Green-Yellow-Red notice framework, emergency protection for women human rights defenders, stronger regulation of digital misogyny, and a permanent Women’s Progress Secretariat to ensure that women’s equality is treated not as a side issue, but as a foundation of democracy, peace, and human dignity.
How can democracies strengthen public trust while ensuring governments remain accountable to the people they serve?
Why does democracy matter?
According to Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, democracy is valuable because it gives governments an incentive to govern in the interests of the people. Speaking at the World Forum 2026 in Berlin, he argued that when governments depend on the votes of citizens, they are more likely to pursue policies that benefit society rather than serve narrow interests.
Singer also emphasized that democracy cannot function without the institutions that sustain it: freedom of speech, freedom of association, and the rule of law. These principles enable open debate, informed decision-making, and accountability—essential foundations of a free society.
At the same time, he acknowledged that democracy is not perfect. Some non-democratic governments have delivered economic prosperity and effective public services, while some democracies struggle with political polarization, unequal representation, and the influence of money in politics. Yet, he argues, authoritarian systems always carry a greater risk: without public accountability, governments can increasingly act in their own interests rather than those of their people. His message is clear: democracy is not defined by perfection, but by accountability.
WHY DEMOCRACY?
The Philosophers Panel
Will we die like Socrates - from the poison of what Plato called "false appearances," administered not by the hemlock of an Athenian jury but by the algorithmic amplification of lies, conspiracy, and manufactured outrage? Are we living through a modern Battle of Salamis - the moment when democracy either finds the courage and ingenuity to defeat an overwhelming force, or falls permanently to the tyranny it once overcame?
The philosophers' panel convened at The World Forum 2026 in Berlin to address these questions directly. It brought together Peter Singer, Emeritus DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and one of the most influential moral philosophers alive; Markus Gabriel, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bonn, Director of the International Centre for Philosophy, and author of Ethical Intelligence: How to Morally Upgrade Us; and Anders Sandberg, researcher at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at Oxford, specializing in long-term governance, AI ethics, and the future of human autonomy. The discussion was moderated by philosopher Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, who brought to the conversation the living memory of Poland's transition from totalitarianism to democracy and back toward its fragile restoration.
Their collective diagnosis: democracy is not failing by accident. It is being deliberately undermined by actors who understand its information architecture better than its defenders do. Their collective prescription: democracy must be rebuilt - philosophically, institutionally, constitutionally, and digitally - before the window closes. This policy paper translates their analysis into a framework for democratic renewal, completing the work the panel began.
What should be the next chapter in the American democratic experiment?
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, what does democracy require to endure?
According to James Bacchus, former U.S. Representative and former Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body, the answer lies not only in defending democracy—but in renewing it.
Reflecting on the evolution of American democracy, Bacchus argues that democratic institutions are strongest when citizens place constitutional principles above political victories. He points to the peaceful concession following the disputed 2000 U.S. presidential election and the nonviolent leadership of the Civil Rights Movement as that democracy derives its legitimacy from respect for institutions, the rule of law, and moral restraint.
Speaking at the World Forum 2026 in Berlin, he also cautioned that democracy cannot survive on elections alone. When people feel they have little influence over political decisions, trust erodes and polarization deepens. The long-term challenge, he argues, is not only resisting authoritarianism but building a more participatory democracy—one where citizens genuinely share in self-government. As America celebrates 250 years since its founding, his message serves as both a reflection and a reminder: democracy is not a finished achievement—it is a continuing promise that each generation must strengthen.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA
THE LAND OF THE FREE
The panel convened as a reflection on the United States' 250th anniversary -a milestone that lands, as Bacchus noted, at a moment of genuine democratic uncertainty. The participants brought complementary vantage points: a former WTO Appellate Body Chairman who had lived through a disputed election in Florida, a US diplomat who had represented America at the OSCE and watched democratic erosion across Europe firsthand, a grassroots mobilization director who helped organize the original 2017 Women's March, and an American filmmaker living in Berlin whose documentary work on Holocaust rescuers had left him acutely attuned to the conditions under which individual conscience either activates or fails.
The central tension was between two readings of the same moment: is the United States experiencing a temporary populist disruption that its institutional resilience will absorb and correct, or is it following the well-documented trajectory of democratic backsliding seen in Hungary, Georgia, Slovakia, and Turkey? Carpenter's answer was careful -too early to conclude -but his framing of the parallels was pointed. The session took place against a backdrop of active civic mobilization, significant corporate accommodation, a Democratic Party still searching for a compelling alternative identity, and a global context in which similar populist pressures are visible across Europe and beyond.
Core Arguments
Democratic resilience depends on institutions and citizens. Strong institutions matter, but democracy ultimately survives only when citizens actively defend democratic norms and participate in civic life.
Democratic backsliding is often gradual. Erosion typically begins with pressure on courts, media, universities, and civil society, becoming normalized through incremental institutional changes.
Public trust is the foundation of legitimacy. Confidence in elections and public institutions is essential; once trust erodes, procedural correctness alone cannot restore democratic legitimacy.
Renewal requires collective action. Populism reflects broader social and economic changes, and democratic renewal depends on organized civic engagement, responsive political leadership, and learning from international experiences.
Call to Action
Strengthen civic participation. Build broad coalitions, expand civic education, and turn public mobilization into lasting civic organizations.
Protect democratic institutions. Safeguard judicial independence, press freedom, election integrity, transparency, and accountability to maintain public confidence.
Resist democratic erosion. Monitor, expose, and challenge actions that weaken democratic norms before they become normalized.
Promote shared responsibility. Encourage governments, political parties, civil society, businesses, media, and citizens to work together in defending and renewing democracy.