Democracy was increasingly under threat worldwide in 2025, with as many as 74% of people living under authoritarian regimes. Funding for international democracy support also declined significantly. Defending democracy requires strengthened collaboration between governments, institutions, and civil society.
In 2025, the European Commission launched the Democracy Shield initiative, which is a roadmap for protecting democracy and electoral processes from foreign interference and information manipulation. Democracy remained at the core of Finland’s foreign, security and development policies despite the pressures to link trade and development and to raise defence spending in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Demo Finland continued its work to promote dialogue among political parties and create opportunities for constructive engagement. In 2025, we worked in 8 countries, supported 139 political parties and reached 1760 politicians and civil society actors in our international programmes.
With the support of Demo Finland, political party structures and legislation were strengthened to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities. Furthermore, politicians, political party actors, other leaders, and parliamentary staff enhanced their skills and understanding of democratic governance. With Demo Finland’s support, new multi-party and multi-stakeholder platforms were also created, and existing ones continued to convene diverse political actors for constructive collaboration and dialogue. These efforts also ensured safe spaces for dialogue in politically sensitive and restrictive environments.
Take a look at the Annual Report 2025 to read more about the results of our work!