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- Date
- Apr 21 - Apr 25, 2026
- Session no.
- S947-01
- Program
- Pathways to Peace Initiative
- Location
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Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria
- Contact
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Benjamin GlahnDeputy CEO and Managing Director, ProgramsCharles EhrlichDirector, Peace and JusticeKateryna AnselmiProgram Manager, Peace and Justice
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Peace & Justice
Democracy on the Frontlines: How Can Democracies Defend Themselves?
In an era of intensifying political polarization, geopolitical competition, hybrid warfare, and accelerating technological disruption, the survival of open societies is increasingly bound to their ability to defend themselves—strategically, institutionally, and collectively.
The Salzburg Global Democracy Resilience Forum (2026–2027) is a two-year initiative to strengthen the capacities of democracies to defend themselves by building durable, cross-sector alliances. Convened by Salzburg Global at our historic facilities in Salzburg, Austria, the Forum will bring together global leaders and practitioners to develop strategies for safeguarding democratic systems amid rising authoritarian aggression and erosion from within.
The first Forum meeting, April 21–24, 2026, titled “Democracy on the Frontlines: How Can Democracies Defend Themselves?” will gather participants from the United States, Europe and beyond that are confronting the sharpest threats to democratic stability and sovereignty. Participants will include strategic thinkers, defense professionals, policy leaders, and civil society innovators across political and ideological lines.
Date
Apr 21 - Apr 25, 2026
Session no.
S947-01
Location
Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria
Contact
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Additional Info
Challenges
- Democracies face a complex spectrum of external and internal challenges, raising urgent questions about the next steps and how democracies coordinate and defend together.
- While individual leaders and institutions often understand their own role, collective strategic coordination across borders and sectors remains uneven.
- Democratic resilience today requires more than moral commitment—it demands strategic foresight and defense-oriented collaboration.
Forum Responses
- The Forum will engage leaders from law and governance, media and information integrity, defense, civil society, and strategic philanthropy to identify actionable mechanisms for democratic defense.
- This includes building transnational coalitions, understanding early-warning systems for democratic erosion, and reinforcing alliance networks capable of resisting hybrid and authoritarian tactics.
- Learning from historical precedents and present-day crises, the Forum will explore how democracies can mobilize and modernize their defense of rule of law, sovereignty, and civic trust.
- Strengthen the capacities of democracies to defend themselves through durable, cross-sector alliances.
- Develop strategies for safeguarding democratic systems amid rising authoritarian aggression and internal erosion.
- Identify actionable mechanisms for democratic defense across governance, information integrity, defense, civil society, and philanthropy.
- Build and reinforce transnational coalitions and alliance networks.
- Improve understanding of early-warning systems for democratic erosion.
- Mobilize strategic foresight to modernize the defense of the rule of law, sovereignty, and civic trust.
Participants will include strategic thinkers, defense professionals, policy leaders, and civil society innovators from the United States, Europe, and beyond who are confronting the sharpest threats to democratic stability and sovereignty, and who represent a diversity of political and ideological perspectives.
Founded in 1947 to rebuild the intellectual and moral infrastructure of democracy after World War II, Salzburg Global remains committed to advancing strategic dialogue and coordinated democratic action. By convening diverse actors in Salzburg, a historic crossroads of European diplomacy and security thought, the Democracy Resilience Forum seeks to catalyze a new phase of collective defense for democratic societies under pressure.
