Democracy is no longer being dismantled through dramatic coups, but step by step — often using democratic decisions as the tools. That warning was repeated throughout a seminar at Almedalen, Sweden's annual political week, where researchers, journalists, and politicians gathered in Vårdklockans kyrka (the Hospital Bell Church) to discuss the defence of democracy. The location itself carried symbolic weight: the church's bells once rang not for worship but to warn of approaching danger.
Professor Åsa Wikforss of Stockholm University told the panel that the world is in a third global wave of democratic backsliding. "We know roughly how this happens. Elected leaders dismantle democracy from within, step by step," she said, noting that the pattern is no longer an obscure phenomenon. The panellists pointed to civil society — including churches — as a decisive force capable of reversing the trend. The seminar, titled "In Defence of Democracy — Time for Resistance and Organising," drew connections between the erosion of democratic norms globally and the particular responsibility of faith communities to model and defend participatory governance.
Moderator Anna Lindman opened by recalling why the church's vårdklockor (emergency bells) once rang — not the ordinary church bells, but all bells at once, to warn people of imminent danger. "The bells are not ringing today, but perhaps they should be," she observed. The panel included former Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin, journalist Jan Scherman, and political scientist Erik Amnå, each offering perspectives on how democratic decline can be recognised and resisted before it is too late.
(Originally published in Swedish. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Equmeniakyrkan / Sändaren — sandaren.se
