01/28/2026
Thank you for the great cooperation on an excellent program, 1014! A fascinating (if at times sobering) discussion about shoring up shared principles, rebuilding trust, and making democracies more resilient.
Last Thursday, 1014 and the American Council on Germany welcomed experts John K. Glenn, George Washington University, and Ksenia Iliuk, Let’s Data, for The Global Challenge to Democracy and Lessons for Renewal.
Against a backdrop of growing dissatisfaction with democracy worldwide, the conversation shifted from why democracy is under strain to how democratic processes are being undermined, both from within and outside. Internally, frustration with political leadership and declining trust weakens democratic resilience. Externally, information operations and manipulation increasingly operate as cross-border security threats, better understood like the challenge from organized crime rather than questions of free speech. Advances in AI have made these efforts faster, cheaper, and harder to detect.
Rather than decrying disruption or collapse, the discussion emphasized the need to reinvent and renew democratic systems, strengthening shared principles, rebuilding trust, and making democracies more agile and resilient.
📌 Key takeaways from the discussion:
🔎 Democratic decline is driven by a combination of internal erosion and external interference. Recognizing recurring patterns can assist with identifying emerging challenges and encourage collaboration rather than division
🔨 The challenge is no longer why democracy is under threat, but how democratic processes are being dismantled
⛓️💥 Information operations have become a security issue by exploiting confirmation bias and weakening trust in institutions
💪 Trust in democratic systems is hard to earn and easy to lose, and requires continuous effort
💡 Reaffirming core principles can support long-term freedom and prosperity
👀 Understanding how different generations engage politically can help guide collective efforts more effectively
Ultimately, the discussion underscored that democratic renewal depends on collective action, and on creating better answers together that move beyond simply “defending” democracy and its traditional institutions.
Thank you again to both John and Ksenia for this thought-provoking discussion, and to the ACG for their partnership.
Photo: Kholood Eid
