Welcome to this new blog, which hosts contributions on democracy with a specific focus on its establishment beyond and across borders.
This means going beyond the traditional notion of democracy to cover topics such as active citizenship, institutional innovation, multilevel governance, and digital and environmental democracy. Those who know us will not be surprised. The team now animating the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence EUmanity Demos has been organising the Supranational Democracy Dialogue, an annual event held since 2018. Before the Centre of Excellence was established, two successive Jean Monnet Chairs explored the theme of supranational democracy, while a dedicated module addressed the topic of women’s active participation in the democratic life of the European Union.
Nonetheless, this Centre of Excellence and this blog mark a further step forward, at a time when promoting and defending democracy has become anything but a trivial choice. The notion of democracy, in light of present times and needs, has become increasingly broad. Respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law, equality, solidarity, and media freedom remain at its core, yet new and closely intertwined emergencies have surfaced: environmental rights—including active climate policies—inclusive migration policies, and the protection of the digital sphere from manipulation and cyberattacks. As we live in what many scholars already call a polycrisis, or even a permacrisis, in which global issues are deeply interconnected, our responses to them must be interconnected too.
The good news is that human civilisation, itself affected by the crisis of the global commons, has the cultural and technological tools to find solutions. Leadership, political will, or simply the commitment of concerned individuals can make a difference, and despite the gloomy landscape of international relations, many are already working towards this goal. We are happy to support them. Against this background, academic discourse itself needs to change and become cross-cutting: democracy is no longer a subject reserved for legal and political scholars, philosophers, and historians. Tech scholars, ecologists, linguists, communication experts—and virtually everybody else—are welcome. The open structure of the Centre, with working groups and seminars welcoming external contributions, is itself an attempt to mirror, in a networked form, the very challenge at stake: being democratic about democracy. For this reason, we extend an open, standing invitation to our readers: if you want to be directly involved, please subscribe to our newsletter or email us.
About the author
Susanna Cafaro is a full professor of European Union Law at the University of Salento. She is the coordinator of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence EUmanity Demos – Democracy for Europe and Humanity, located at the same university. She also holds a Jean Monnet Chair on “European Supranational Democracy: a Lab for the World.” She is the author of numerous scientific publications; her research focuses on European Union institutions, economic governance and external relations, law of international organisations, global governance, and democracy. She is an advisor to the Institute for the Development of a Global Democratic Republic and has carried out consultancy and research for the European Parliament and the European Central Bank. She was a member of the Scientific Committee for the Future of Europe established by the Italian Government (2020-2021). Since 2023, she has been in the directirs’ board of the journal “Athena. Critical Enquiries in Law, Philosophy, and Globalization” and is a member of numerous national and international scientific and editorial committees of academic journals and book series.