Across the world, democratic institutions are increasingly expected to address problems generated by economic systems over which they exercise only limited control. Rising inequality, concentration of wealth, privatization of public functions, and the growing political influence of private actors have fundamentally reshaped the relationship between democracy and the economy. As corporations, financial actors, digital platforms, and other non-state actors assume functions traditionally associated with public institutions, democratic accountability becomes increasingly fragmented.
This panel starts from the premise that the contemporary crisis of democracy cannot be understood without examining the parallel crisis of accountability in global economic governance. Democratic institutions continue to rely on traditional mechanisms of representation and control, while economic power increasingly operates beyond effective democratic oversight. This disconnect contributes to declining public trust, rising inequality, and the erosion of democratic legitimacy.
The panel places integrity, ethics, compliance, and anti-corruption frameworks at the centre of discussions on democratic renewal. Rather than treating these as technical or administrative tools, it approaches them as essential components of democratic infrastructure that shape accountability, legitimacy, and institutional resilience. Integrity is not only about preventing wrongdoing, but about ensuring that democratic institutions have the capacity, resources, and independence to enforce accountability.
South East Europe provides an important empirical lens for exploring these dynamics. The region’s experience of post-socialist transition, privatization, European integration, state capture risks, and institutional reform reflects broader global challenges surrounding democracy and economic governance.
The panel welcomes theoretical, empirical, and comparative contributions addressing themes including democracy and the global economic model; inequality and democratic legitimacy; integrity systems and accountability; corruption and state capture; private and corporate power in public decision-making; digital governance; public trust; and democratic resilience. It also encourages contributions that explore innovative governance models capable of strengthening democratic accountability under conditions of increasing economic interdependence and fragmented authority.
The central question is whether democracy can remain resilient in an economy increasingly beyond democratic control, or whether new models of governance are required to restore accountability, legitimacy, and public trust.