The network …

… “External Democracy Promotion” (EDP) is an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional working group of scholars from the social sciences. Our main focus is on international and comparative studies. Participants come from universities and research institutes in Europe.

News

16. December 25 | News

The EDP Has a New Member: Welcome, Christine Hackenesch!

We are happy to announce that Christine Hackenesch has joined the EDP Network as a member and are looking forward to working with her. Christine is a Project Leader and Senior Researcher at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability …

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10. July 25 | News

Reflections on the Research Workshop: International Democracy Promotion at Times of Global Autocratization

On April 14-15, the University of St. Gallen (HSG) hosted our research workshop International Democracy Promotion at Times of Global Autocratisation. The event marked the launch of a new phase of the External Democracy Promotion academic network, which over the …

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29. June 25 | News

Brigitte Weiffen Participates in Workshop on the Role of External Actors in Young Democracies

Brigitte Weiffen was an invited participant in the workshop “Democracy at 10: Understanding the Role of External Actors in Young Democracies” on 22 April 2025 in Lisbon. The workshop was organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in cooperation …

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1. June 25 | News

Sonja Grimm Advances Research on External Influences in Democratization: International Workshop Leadership in Prague

Sonja Grimm and her Chair of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science and Sociology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg made another contribution to international research through their participation in the ECPR Joint Sessions, held from 23 to 25 May 2025 …

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Publications

Juan Albarracín, Rodrigo Moura Karolczak , Jonas Wolff | 2026

Violence against Civil Society Actors in Democracies

In: Journal of Peace Research, 62(5), 1411-1427

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Sonja Grimm, Brigitte Weiffen, Karina Mross | 2025

Democracy promotion in times of autocratization: a conceptual note

In: Democratization (32/7), 1617-1639

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Inken von Borzyskowski , Daniela Donno | 2025

International Election Support

In: Holly Ann Garnett, and Toby S. James (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Integrity

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EDP Wire

14. June 26 | Julia Leininger

International Democracy Promotion Across Two Waves: From Support to Protection

14.06.2026. How can the international community protect democracies under threat? Julia Leininger pioneered the concept of democracy protection in 2022, laying the groundwork for a growing field of research. Her new article builds on this framework, offering fresh insights into …

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27. April 26 | Sonja Grimm, Brigitte Weiffen , Karina Mross

How Democracy Promoters Respond to Global Autocratisation

27 April 2026 This EDP Wire is based on Policy Brief 34/2025 published by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), which summarises the contributions to our special issue  “Democracy promotion in times of autocratization” published with Democratization. Over …

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