Welcome to FES Democracy of the Future

Our Topics

Polarisation & Autocratization

Polarisation & Autocratization

People have different opinions. Respecting the pluralism of opinions and convictions is one of the key tenets of a democracy. But democracy also requires coming together and finding a compromise. What happens if polarisation turns toxic and undermines this basis for compromise and progress? More

Youth Studies

Youth Studies

What are young people afraid of or hopeful about? In a rapidly changing world that is challenged by climate change, aging societies, and democratic decline in some parts of the world, the FES Youth Studies aim at encouraging informed debate about the attitudes, hopes, and fears of young people between the ages of 15 and 29. More

Citizens' Assemblies

Citizens' Assemblies

Many democracies around the world have been plagued by increased political and societal polarisation, decreasing trust of citizens in the institutions of representative democracy and a decreasing willingness of citizens to participate in political processes. Citizens' assemblies can help alleviate these developments. More

Right-Wing Populism

Right-Wing Populism

Democratic backsliding is fundamentally linked to the rise of right-wing populist parties (RWPPs). It is leaders of RWPPs at the helm of illiberal democratic projects that are at the forefront of undermining democratic institutions. Understanding the electoral success of RWPPs is crucial if we want to successfully safeguard liberal democracy. More

Inequality & Democracy

Inequality & Democracy

How does inequality affect democracy? How unequal is participation and voter turnout? Are legislative bodies in fact an image of the society they assert to represent? How can we make democracy more equal so it fulfills the promise of equal consideration of interests and opinions? What can progressives do about that? More

PARLY - Tracing parliamentary debates

PARLY - Tracing parliamentary debates

PARLY lets you explore official parliamentary transcripts from different European parliaments in an intuitive, interactive way. Track how issues rise, fall, and change over time, and uncover patterns in political debates. Whether you’re a researcher, journalist, student, or engaged citizen, PARLY gives you the tools to understand how politicians discuss key topics and connect them to broader trends. More

Talk, Conference, and Workshop Series

Democracy Talks

Democracy Talks

At our Democracy Talks, we invite our Vienna-based partners from politics, academia, and civil society to engage in low-threshold conversations about general and current political issues related to democracy in Austria, Europe, and the world. The Democracy Talks take place on average once a month and are generally held at the FES Vienna event space at Reichsratsstraße 13/12. More

Brussels Democracy Dialogue

Brussels Democracy Dialogue

The Brussels Democracy Dialogue (BDD) is a high-level platform bringing together around 100 progressive democracy experts from politics, academia, trade unions, and civil society across Europe and beyond. Organised by FES in Brussels and Vienna, the BDD fosters the exchange of ideas and innovative solutions to confront democratic backsliding and strengthen social democracy. More

ODIHR/FES School on Politics, Leadership and Advocacy

ODIHR/FES School on Politics, Leadership and Advocacy

The ODIHR/FES School on Politics, Leadership and Advocacy brings together young parliamentarians, party representatives, and activists to strengthen democratic institutions in the Eastern Partnership countries. Each year, the programme equips 25 participants from across the OSCE region with skills in leadership, advocacy, campaigning, and policy analysis. More

Democratic Expeditions

Democratic Expeditions

Democratic Expeditions is a series of international research workshops exploring underexamined challenges to democracy. Its inaugural event, 'Moral Dilemmas of Resistance: Political Ethics in the Face of Democratic Regression and Electoral Authoritarianism' focused on political ethics in the face of democratic regression and electoral authoritarianism. Democratic Expeditions is a joint initiative of FES Democracy of the Future Vienna and CEU. More

Publications

Serbia: Who does (not) have a seat in parliament?

Spasojević, Dušan; Ilić, Vujo

Serbia: Who does (not) have a seat in parliament?

Vienna, 2025

Download publication (440 KB, PDF-File)


Ko (ni)je predstavljen u Srpskom parlamentu?

Spasojević, Dušan; Ilić, Vujo

Ko (ni)je predstavljen u Srpskom parlamentu?

Vienna, 2025

Download publication (460 KB, PDF-File)


Upcoming Events

24.09.2025

Democracy Talks @FES Vienna • 24 September 2025 6.30pm • with Prof. Kenneth Roberts

 


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14.10.2025
A visual shows the logo of Brussels Democracy Dialogue, along with this year's title 'Time to reset! How can we revitalise European democracies?', and the date: 14 October 2025

Time to reset! How can we revitalise European democracies? • 14 October 2025


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About Us

FES Democracy of the Future is part of the international branch of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung working on democracy in the OSCE region and based in Vienna. In collaboration with researchers, we explore and look for answers to key questions concerning democracy:

Find out more about us and our work here.