Salzburg Global: Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems 

A new report from Salzburg Global’s Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems program aims to identify ways to mitigate the threat of political violence and address the dangers that polarization and political violence pose to democratic systems.

The HFG-supported report “Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems: Assessing the Risks and What Can Be Done About Them” suggests that the greatest dangers to democratic systems emerge when full democracies shift toward “hybrid democracies,” i.e., systems with democratic structures but marked by dysfunction, identity struggles, and intense forms of political competition that undermine democratic processes.

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The report is part of a three-year project HFG has launched with Salzburg Global to explore violent threats to democracy worldwide. Salzburg Global is an independent non-profit organization founded in 1947 with a mission to challenge current and future leaders to shape a better world.

The project, “Polarization and Violent Threats to Democratic Systems: Assessing the Threats and What We Can Do About Them” aims to:

• develop an international, interdisciplinary network of researchers and stakeholders working on understanding and addressing rising polarization and political violence in a range of mature democratic systems;
• define a set of critical questions and objectives to inform and shape a new research agenda on the rise of polarization and political violence across the selected countries; 
• contribute to a better understanding of how to assess escalating threats; and, 
• posit policy and practice recommendations for how to address the threats more effectively.

In September 2024, HFG President Daniel F. Wilhelm joined some twenty-five experts and policymakers for a kick-off conference in Salzburg, Austria.  Following the conference, Salzburg Global published Tackling the Rising Threat of Polarization and Political Violence. The report suggested steps to reduce political violence and restore democratic trust in countries where this is a problem.

For more information contact:

Nyeleti Honwana, Senior Program Officer

info@hfg.org | 646.428.0971