When the Defending Democracy Global Initiative (DDGI) was launched in Skopje in December 2024, its founders — Media Dialogue (Germany), the New European People’s Forum (international), and CIVIL – Center for Freedom (North Macedonia) — envisioned more than just another declaration.
They sought a platform that could defend democracy and human rights against authoritarianism, disinformation, hybrid warfare, and imperial aggression.
Within months, this vision took form in the Initiative’s first major publication: Defending Democracy and Human Rights – Report and Policy Recommendations.Published in March 2025, this 200-page book shows a bold ambition to become a turning point in the global conversation on democratic resilience. It goes far beyond cataloguing challenges.
As its authors stress — it is a blueprint for action. Structured around analyses, recommendations, and practical guidance, the report connects lessons from the war in Ukraine and Gaza, the instability of the Western Balkans, and other vulnerable regions with a wider global struggle against authoritarian tendencies, imperial wars of aggression, and anti-democratic movements.
Read Book Online HereThe Core MessageAt its heart, the report carries a simple but urgent conviction: democracy cannot be defended with words alone — it must be reinforced through coordinated action and solidarity.
The first part of the book presents ten chapters across 60 pages, offering a comprehensive roadmap for resilience — a set of actionable policy recommendations. It explores how societies can counter disinformation and hybrid threats, confront authoritarianism and imperial expansion, and provide sustained support for democracies under siege, with a dedicated chapter on Ukraine.
It also highlights the importance of strengthening institutions, empowering civil society, and protecting human rights defenders, while stressing the need to build broad global alliances for the defence of truth, freedom, and resilience.
Together, these chapters form a strategic framework that not only diagnoses today’s threats, but also guides governments, institutions, and civic actors in transforming solidarity into lasting action.
From Skopje to the WorldThe book is the collective achievement of dozens of experts, parliamentarians, and thought leaders who took part in the Skopje conference and subsequent consultations, meetings, and workshops.
It reflects a wide consensus: authoritarianism is not confined to one region, and democratic backsliding, disinformation, and imperial aggression must be confronted urgently and comprehensively.Following the core recommendations, the book presents highlights of keynote speeches delivered by leading experts, diplomats, university professors, thought leaders, journalists, and civil society representatives from across Europe and the United States.
It also includes a comprehensive account of related activities, among them the exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of CIVIL – Center for Freedom.A Living DocumentWhat makes the report unique is its open-ended character.
It is designed as a living document, relevant beyond any single event, offering a strategic framework that organizations and institutions can adapt to changing circumstances. Its value lies not only in what it proposes today, but in its ability to inform democratic responses tomorrow and in years to come.
The road ahead
The report is a reminder that defending democracy is a continuous process requiring vigilance, courage, and solidarity.
The challenges are immense: staying ahead of disinformation and hybrid threats, confronting imperial wars of aggression, ensuring that recommendations turn into policy, and securing sustainable support for long-term programming.
Yet its message is clear: the defence of democracy in Ukraine, in the Balkans, and across the globe is inseparable from the defenve of democracy everywhere.
This book is both a reference and a rallying call. It equips decision-makers, civil society, and citizens with tools to act — and it challenges them to use them.This report is both a reference and a rallying call. It equips decision-makers, civil society, media, and citizens with the tools to act — and it challenges them to use them.
Because the defence of democracy in Ukraine, the Balkans or the Baltics, and beyond is not only regional — defending democracy anywhere means defending it everywhere.