The Global South is confronted with a fast-changing security environment in which traditional and emerging threats increasingly intersect with the functioning of democratic institutions. Political violence, armed conflict, terrorism, extremism, internal insecurity, social vulnerability and the growing influence of non-state actors are putting new pressures on political institutions and state capacity. These challenges also pose an equally important question: how can democratic governance adapt, respond, and remain resilient to emerging security threats?
This panel examines the changing relationship between security, political authority and democratic governance in the Global South, beyond a narrow understanding of security as a matter of state protection. The panel seeks to identify emerging pressures and democratic vulnerabilities and explore institutional, political and policy responses that can strengthen democratic governance under conditions of insecurity. Indicative research areas include:
1. Political Violence, Conflict and Democratic Stability
2. State Responses to Security Threats and Democratic Accountability
3. Civil-Military Relations and Democratic Political Order
4. Human Security, Social Vulnerability and Democratic Inclusion
5. Emerging Actors, New Forms of Threat and Changing Political Authority
6. Security, Political Change and Democratic Institutions in South Asia
7. State Capacity and Democratic Governance in India
The panel also recognises that the challenges facing democratic governance cannot be explained solely by domestic factors. International security relationships, strategic alliances, defense cooperation, economic engagement and differences in trade and foreign policy can impact the options and capacities available to states in the Global South. The role of established and mature democracies and other influential external actors thus deserves critical attention, especially where external strategic interests intersect with domestic security priorities and democratic institutions. The central objective of the panel is to move beyond diagnosis towards possibilities of democratic renewal and institutional adaptation. Contributions are encouraged to examine innovative policy responses, institutional reforms, mechanisms of accountability, democratic practices, conflict-management strategies and forms of citizen participation that may enable states to address security threats without undermining democratic principles. The panel is particularly interested in identifying conditions under which security and democratic governance can become mutually reinforcing rather than competing priorities.
The themes listed above are indicative rather than exhaustive. The panel welcomes theoretically informed, comparative and empirically grounded contributions addressing related dimensions of emerging security threats, democratic challenges, institutional adaptation and possible pathways towards more resilient democratic governance in the Global South.
