Political systems around the world are undergoing profound transformations. While the nation-state remains the primary framework for organising legitimacy, authority, and collective decision-making, its traditional democratic institutions are being increasingly questioned and reconfigured. Although debates on democratic innovation often focus on local experiments or transnational cooperation, the national level remains crucial in determining the extent and significance of political participation, representation, and sovereignty in the 21st century.

IInnovations at this level take many forms. These include new institutional arrangements, participatory mechanisms, and digital tools, as well as conceptual and discursive innovations that redefine our understanding of democracy, legitimacy, and citizenship. Importantly, such innovations are not limited to democratic systems. Authoritarian and hybrid regimes are increasingly imitating democratic practices and adopting participatory rhetoric, not to deepen democracy, but to reinforce control, legitimacy, and stability. This duality—innovation as both democratization and simulation—raises fundamental questions about the future of political systems.

The aim of this conference is to explore political innovations at the national level, including both democratic and authoritarian, as well as conceptual and empirical innovations. We invite contributions that examine how states and political elites reinterpret the language and institutions of democracy, adapt to social and technological change, and strategically innovate to maintain power. How do such innovations alter the conceptual boundaries of democracy, representation, and participation? What kinds of institutional and procedural creativity can be observed across different political regimes? How do citizens and civil society actors respond to, resist, or adopt these innovations?

Through this conference, we aim to promote a nuanced understanding of innovation as a political phenomenon—one that has the potential to revitalise democratic governance, yet which can also be exploited by authoritarian regimes to strengthen their hold on power. By examining the conceptual and institutional dynamics of innovation at a national level, we seek to reconsider the potential and constraints of democratic renewal in the 21st century.

Here you can find the final programme.

Please register until 27th November under the following link.

This event is the third of a series of four conferences in the context of the “Changing Orders Research Programme – Focus Area 2: „Democratic Innovations” of the Andrássy University Budapest, supported by the Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Programme.