Global Democracy Forum Asia 2025

The Asia Regional Forum 2025, titled “Youths, Democracy & Electoral Legitimacy in Asia,” is a pivotal gathering organized under the umbrella of the Global Democracy Coalition Forum. Set to take place on 4 April 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand, this one-day hybrid event seeks to address the unique challenges and opportunities faced by the region’s youth in engaging with democratic governance and electoral processes.

The Asia-Pacific region is a diverse tapestry of political systems, encompassing democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian states. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2024, only five countries in the region qualify as “full democracies,” while others fall into categories such as “flawed democracies,” “hybrid regimes,” and “authoritarian states.” A consistent decline in democratic standards, particularly free and fair elections, has been noted by International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy 2024 report.

Researchers from Asia Centre, in their March 2025 special issue of the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, identify the erosion of electoral integrity as a significant driver of this democratic backsliding. Amidst these challenges, the role of youth—constituting over 700 million people aged 15-24 in the region—emerges as critical to revitalizing democracy. However, significant barriers persist, ranging from legal and institutional obstacles to systemic underrepresentation in political structures.

This forum builds on discussions from the 2024 Global Democracy Coalition Forum and seeks to create actionable solutions for empowering youth to play a more active role in the region’s political processes.

Register here for the event