Conference Program

Globally, the foundations of democracy and the rule of law are under pressure. The number of democratic states governed by the rule of law is declining, and support for the international legal order, and thus for organizations like the European Union, the United Nations, and NATO, is proving fragile. Geopolitical allies, essential for peace and security, are no longer a given now that national governments around the world are experiencing pressure from or falling prey to (extreme) right-wing political movements. Big Tech and GenAI and their rising power play a crucial role in these developments.

Trust in government, democracy, and politics continues to decline, which is strengthened by an increase in affective polarization: people increasingly view others as opponents and even enemies, simply because they belong to a different group. While social cohesion does exist, it's often within their own bubble of like-minded people. Affective polarization reinforces populist and authoritarian tendencies, further undermining the fundamental principle of the democratic rule of law: checks and balances. Citizens do not longer have a shared definition of democracy. One segment of society sees democracy as the majority determining policy and which institutions have a right to exist, while another segment sees democracy as inextricably linked to the rule of law, meaning that minority interests are also protected, and the concept of checks and balances is crucial to ensuring that powers monitor and balance each other. This form of polarization shifts the political and social debate from cooperation to conflict, making the government increasingly perceived as rudderless.
However, how do we come into grip of this destruction of democracy? Where to begin with turning the tide? Is there a way to build a resilient democracy for the future? This paper searches for answers to these fundamental questions by shedding light on education, more specifically higher education. Central research question of this paper is how higher education can contribute to ensure that (future) residents are (more) involved in democratic decision-making, while simultaneously strengthening social cohesion as an essential condition for the sustainable functioning of an inclusive democratic legal order? The main purpose – and the theoretical framework – of the paper is to show in which way practice-based research can be integrated into education and teaching (methods) in higher education, more specifically on the level of Universities of Applied Sciences. Teachers should get the tools to convey and disseminate democratic values to the next generation of professionals, that is responsible for the resilience of our democracy now and in the future. The paper departs from a Dutch point of view, but also tries to extend the answer to the central question to the European and international level.