Democracies under threat: From disinformation to digital technocracy
Why has the democratisation process stopped or even reversed globally? What are the reasons for this authoritarian temptation? CIDOB, with the support of the Government of Catalonia, organises this conference with the aim of establishing it as an annual high-level meeting for reflection and joint thinking on how to strengthen and protect democratic systems from the threats that weaken them.
Jordi Maragall room, CIDOB. Elisabets 12, 08001 Barcelona
CIDOB with the support of the Government of Catalonia and the CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) programme of the European Commission
In the current circumstances of uncertainty and fragmentation, where the perception of facts is increasingly mediated by emotions, far-right parties have gained influence in governments around the world. The emergence of disinformation represents a new social conflict impacting public discourse and human security. And it also has far-reaching implications for human rights and democratic norms, eroding institutional trust, distorting electoral processes, and even fostering digital violence and repression. Meanwhile, the return of Donald Trump to the White House endorses and emboldens the political agendas of reactionary forces worldwide.
Given this context where democracy is questioned both internally and externally, it is necessary to answer certain questions: Why has the democratisation process stopped or even reversed globally? What are the reasons for this authoritarian temptation? What are the internal threats that strain European democracies and how to address them? How can the quality of political discussion and the integrity of electoral processes be improved? How can regulatory measures and international cooperation be strengthened to counter disinformation? How can democratic spaces be protected? What roles can public authorities and regional governments play?
To answer these questions, CIDOB, with the support of the Government of Catalonia, and within the framework of the DigiDem-EU project, funded by the CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) programme of the European Commission, organises this conference with the aim of establishing it as an annual high-level meeting for reflection and joint thinking on how to strengthen and protect democratic systems from the threats that weaken them. This first edition of the conference aims to analyse the impact of this algorithmic transformation of democracy: from the disruptive capacity of disinformation to the power imbalances brought about by this so-called technocracy that acts as a global political power, to the legislative responses, now under threat, to limit the monopolistic and disruptive power of social networks.
Participants
Alberto Alemanno
Javier Borràs Arumí
Anna Bosch
Lena-Maria Böswald
Carolina Caeiro
Carme Colomina Saló
Andrea Costafreda
Joan Donovan
Jaume Duch
Agustí Fernández de Losada
Doreen Grove
Míriam Juan-Torres
Eviane Leidig
Beatriz Marín García
Jeffery Marino
Pol Morillas
Héctor Sánchez Margalef
Eduardo Suárez
Márton Tompos
