The OECD Reinforcing Democracy Initiative _ Monitoring Report Assessing Progress and Charting the Way Forward

Very proud to have prepared the Monitoring report: Assessing Progress and Charting the Way forward, to offer evidence underpinning discussions at the 2nd OECD Global Forum?? on Building Trust organised under the leadership of Elsa Pilichowski #ReinforcingDemocracy , held in Milan Italy on ???21-22 October 2024 ?? Milan, Italy

2024 OECD Global Forum on Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy oecd-events.org

The report prepared under the leadership of Gillian Dorner highlights country progress, best practices and the gaps to be closed supported by findings from the 2024 #OECDTrustSurvey. The repoirt is out in English and French and is available here in both languages English and French: ??

https://oe.cd/rdi-monitoring-report

This report covers the five areas corresponding to the action plans of the Reinforcing Democracy Initiative. combatting mis- and disinformation; enhancing participation and representation and openness in public life, and its annex on gender equality; stronger open democracies in a globalised world; governing green; and digital democracy.

Public Governance for Combatting Mis- and Disinformation

Governments increasingly recognise the urgency of strengthening information integrity and have started to act in three main areas: enhancing transparency and accountability, fostering societal resilience to disinformation, and improving governance measures to uphold the integrity of information ecosystems. Notably, some are moving beyond self-regulatory approaches to improve the transparency of online platforms and their content moderation. Many governments are working to slow the decline in independent and pluralistic media and to build capacity – both amongst the general public and within government – to effectively tackle mis- and disinformation.

Nonetheless, action has been slow given the rapid rise of mis- and disinformation and their damaging effects over the past decade. Governments need to work together and with all of society to deliver comprehensive and constructive solutions. The OECD Council Recommendation on Information Integrity, currently under development, will provide a global standard for action in democratic settings.

Enhancing Representation, Participation and Openness in Public Life

Countries are making progress in implementing participatory processes at all levels of government, developing policy frameworks to ensure civil society engagement and improving access to information. Efforts are also being made to enhance representation in elected bodies and the public service to ensure that these institutions reflect societal demographics.

Nevertheless, there is still no clear understanding, nor clear way forward, in making participation fully compatible with, and fully meaningful in, representative democracy. The institutionalisation of meaningful and transparent participation mechanisms has been slow. There is thus a need to take citizen participation to the next level, institutionalising citizen participation and evaluating what works best for different policy decisions. Strengthening citizens’ civic skills and civil servants’ capacity to undertake and evaluate participatory processes is crucial. While evaluation of these processes has become more common, further research is needed on their impact. The upcoming OECD Barometer will help measure meaningful citizen participation.

More broadly, OECD data show significant scope remains for further action to protect and promote civic space, strengthen integrity in policymaking and boost the representation of underrepresented groups. While some progress has been made with regard to women and young people, barriers to representation remain for other under-represented groups such as visible minorities, second generation migrants and indigenous people (where applicable).

Special focus on gender equality?

Countries are working to remove legal and policy barriers to women’s participation in electoral and policymaking mechanisms, while addressing gender stereotypes, gender-based violence, and sexual harassment, which prevent women and girls from fully engaging in public life. Countries are also increasingly adopting gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting.

However, such measures alone are not enough. Despite decades of progress, gender gaps in political representation and participation persist across OECD countries. Countries must work together to develop evidence-based policies, using more granular data to identify areas requiring attention. New challenges, such as tech-facilitated gender-based violence, need to be tackled urgently. The biennial OECD Gender Equality Forum provides a platform for addressing gender gaps in the context of the dual transition.

Stronger Open Democracies in a Globalised World

Governments are strengthening governance capacities to address global challenges through international co-operation, taking better account of transboundary impacts, and developing new reporting mechanisms for global commitments. At the same time, they recognise that intensifying foreign interference is changing the landscape of international relations, with consequences for the democratic model of governance. In response, OECD countries are strengthening institutional and regulatory frameworks for lobbying, including political finance from foreign sources; applying pre- and post-public employment restrictions on senior public officials and ensuring protections for media and civil society organisations.

However, the scale of the problem requires greater co-operation amongst democracies to better understand foreign interference and design appropriate policy responses to strengthen democratic resilience. These include countering corruption, controlling lobbying, reinforcing information integrity, better integrating diasporas, further regulating political finance or better screening foreign direct investments, and minimising trade and debt dependence on single foreign actors. Nonetheless, it is important to safeguard legitimate foreign influence efforts to foster transparent international relations.

Governing Green

Countries are using tools such as green budgeting and green public procurement to ensure that government actions align with green objectives. Governments are also monitoring and reducing their own greenhouse gas emissions and environmental footprints. Finally, some are attempting to build public consensus and trust in government’s ability to drive the green transition through, for example, public communication, citizen participation and engagement with civil society.

However, much more is needed for governments to accelerate the transition to a green economy. Democratic governments need to garner public understanding and support for policies that may be seen as contentious or inequitable. They can take action to improve governance processes, such as permitting for green infrastructure; making use governance tools such as procurement more strategically; and employing public communication and citizen engagement to build trust and buy-in.

Transforming Public Governance for Digital Democracy

Governments are using digital tools, including civic tech, to enhance both in-person and online participation in policymaking. They are also addressing regulatory gaps in election integrity, political advertising, and online campaign finance. Digital identification systems and open data are being deployed to improve public services.

However, the public sector often lags in adopting the necessary technologies needed to meet the expectations of a digital democracy. The rapid spread of mis- and disinformation demonstrates the urgent need for more decisive government action. Public institutions can improve their ability to harness digital tools, such as AI, to provide better services and enhance their own efficiency.

I would also like to thank all of the colleagues at OECD and also at International IDEA who have contributed to the report: Laurence Dynes Robert Addison Moritz Ader Nestor Alfonzo Santamaria Miriam Allam Miguel Amaral Julio Bacio Terracino Karine Badr Renan Barbosa Fernandes, Alana Baker Aysegul Bayar Hildgen Martha Baxter Charles B.

János Bertok Pauline Bertrand Cindy Boreillo Erika Bozzay Monica Brezzi Joanne Caddy Matthieu Cahen Giulia Cibrario Simon Cox Mike Cressey Marco Daglio Tenzin Dekyi

Conor D. Elise Desplanques Deniz Devrim James Drummond Cecilia Emilsson

Léa Aleyna FOURNIER Elo?se Gabadou Santiago Pietro Gagliardi Daniel Gerson Pinar Guven Cameron Hall András Hlács Carlos Hinojosa Jesper Stenberg Johns?n David Jonason Margaux Lelong Claire Karle Marianna Karttunen Misha Kaur Kenza Khachani Capucine Kerboas Sophia Kilroy Rebecca King Sarah Kups Chloe Lelievre Carina Lindberg Paulo Magina Craig Matasick Mauricio Mejia Amanda Menona Omer Faruk Metin Claire Mc Evoy Réka Mihácsi Bruno Monteiro Giulia Morando Alberto Morales Natsuki Murai Carissa Munro Scherie Nicol Natalia Nolan Giuseppa Otimofiore Francesca Papa Pradnaya Pathak Emma Phillips Silvia Picalarga Mariane Piccinin Barbieri Anna Pietik?inen Mariana Prats Arnault Pretet Jack Radisch Arturo Rivera Alex Roberts Camila Saffirio Ernesto Soria Morales Carlos Santiso Pierre Sarliève Alex Seemann Hamsini Shankar Sina Smid Dag Str?msnes Tatyana Teplova, PhD Daniel Trnka Barbara Ubaldi Camila Vammalle Lisa van den Eynden Chiara Varazzani PhD Fran?ois Villeneuve Helene Wells Ricardo Zapata Liudas Zdanavicius

We also wish to thank colleagues working at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), including Alberto Fernandez Gibaja Alexander Hudson Seema Shah Sebastián Becker Castellaro Therese Pearce Laanela Peter Wolf

With also the help of Andrea Uhrhammer Thibaut Gigou Sara Sreberny-Mohammadi Meral Gedik Cindy Garcia