From Pressure to Purpose: A Pathway for the Democracy, Rights, and Governance Community

The Democracy, Rights, and Governance (DRG) community is operating in a period of sustained strain that has exposed both the vulnerability of existing DRG support models and the urgency of strategic recalibration. The combined effects of democratic backsliding, shrinking civic space, rapidly evolving information environments, and structural contraction in traditional funding have made it clear that incremental adjustment is no longer sufficient.

In this report, which is the result of three Carter Center convenings of DRG experts, as well as additional research and case studies, we argue that navigating this moment will require shifting weight toward civil society resilience and information ecosystems, redistributing power and resources away from centralized and compliance-heavy models, anchoring democratic legitimacy in lived experience, and investing for endurance rather than short-term stability.

Whether the DRG community merely absorbs these aftershocks or uses this rupture to rebuild on firmer ground will determine its ability to move decisively — from pressure to purpose — in the contested democratic terrain ahead.