Maria Wincławska in her new policy paper explores the contemporary condition of democracy in Europe analyzing whether even as the support for democracy remains high in the EU societies, why does the system appear increasingly vulnerable? The study is based on original empirical research (surveys and focus groups) conducted in Poland, the Netherlands, and Greece. It examines how European citizens understand, experience, and evaluate democracy—both as an ideal and as a lived political reality.
Democracy continues to enjoy strong declarative support and is widely seen as the preferred form of government across Europe. Yet at the same time, European societies are experiencing growing political polarization, declining trust in institutions, the rise of populist and radical parties, and, in some cases, democratic backsliding. The paper argues that these signs point to more subtle and potentially consequential vulnerabilities within democratic commitment itself.
The analysis is based on two complementary research projects. The first investigates how feelings of insecurity and political polarization shape citizens’ willingness to accept limitations on democratic standards. Using a large-scale experimental surveys in Poland and the Netherlands, the study examines whether narratives centered on threats—such as security or migration—can weaken support for democratic principles. The second project adopts a qualitative approach, using focus group interviews in Poland and Greece to explore how democracy is understood, imagined, and emotionally experienced in everyday life by supporters of different political parties.
Together, the studies provide a multidimensional picture of democratic attitudes. Wincławska is drawing the conclusion that support for democracy remains robust, especially with regard to its procedural elements such as elections, majority rule, and alternation of power. However, this support is often grounded in a narrow, procedural understanding of democracy, with liberal-democratic principles—such as minority rights, pluralism, and the rule of law—playing a considerably less central role unless explicitly prompted. The research also reveals cross-national and political differences.
Overall, the paper argues that contemporary threats to democracy are less about open opposition and more about fragmentation, semantic erosion, and conditional loyalty. By combining insights into how democracy is experienced “from the inside” with evidence of how it is negotiated under pressure, the policy paper points toward the need to defend democracy not only as a system of governance, but as a shared set of norms that structure political conflict, inclusion, and restraint.
Read the whole policy paper: Democracy – the only game in town?
Co-financed by the National Freedom Institute – Centre for Civil Society Development in the framework of the Civil Society Organisations Development Programme for 2018-2030 CSODev
