Democracy and freedom

Democracy in the 21^st centuryfaces a paradox. On the one hand, it is widely accepted as the only legitimate form of government. On the other hand, in recent years there has been a growing conviction that democracy is in a long-term crisis. At the Institute H21, we address the current challenges of free societies and strive to contribute to making democracy thrive through research and advocacy.

Freedom of expression is a pillar of democracy. Without it, public debate, which is an integral part of the process of civic self-governance, cannot function. Today, however, freedom of expression is confronted with new challenges, such as the threat of disinformation and hate speech on the Internet. Many governments want to crackdown hard and uncompromisingly on these dangers. But this can lead tohalf-baked legislation and a threat to freedom of speech. As part of the Svobodaslova.online project, we are working to ensure that this fundamental freedom is not trampled on in the fightagainst new threats. We are also a proud member of the Síť k ochraně demokracie.

At the heart of a well-functioning democracy is the human being. However, it is often forgotten and much of the attention is focused on institutions. Therefore, our research and publications focus on the integration of cognitive science, political science, and constitutional law in order to provide insights from modern psychological research into the problems of democracy. We want to return the demos to democracy.