Networking for Democracy Defenders
#DemocracyDrinks is an informal, recurring conversation and networking series bringing together people working on democracy, peace, justice, and democratic participation.
The format is intentionally simple: open, dialogue-led conversations in a relaxed setting. #DemocracyDrinks The Hague provides space to connect across sectors, test ideas, explore emerging questions, and reflect collectively on democratic challenges beyond formal panels or presentations.
Launched in Brussels in 2018, #DemocracyDrinks now takes place in cities around the world. Editions in The Hague have brought together a diverse mix of practitioners from NGOs, international institutions, think tanks, government, and civil society.
#DemocracyDrinks is for anyone curious about, working on, researching, or engaging with questions of democracy, rule of law, human rights, and democratic participation across sectors, disciplines, and levels of action. You do not need to be a speaker or expert to participate; curiosity and willingness to connect and engage in conversation are enough.
Each edition centres on a shared conversation around a timely topic, question, or dilemma. Conversations are lightly facilitated to frame the issue, followed by open discussion with participants and informal networking over drinks. The emphasis is on connection, reflection, and dialogue – not presentations, launches, or formal debates.
#DemocracyDrinks The Hague combines regularly programmed editions with curated, community-led contributions. Organisations and initiatives can propose and help shape #DemocracyDrinks editions by hosting or co-creating informal, dialogue-led conversations that bring new ideas, perspectives, and questions into the series.
If you have an idea, topic, or emerging issue that would benefit from open exchange in a cross-sector setting, you’re invited to propose an edition.
Propose a #DemocracyDrinks EditionBefore submitting, please review the guidelines for contributing an edition here.
For any questions, send us an email at democracydrinksthehague@gmail.com
Water is often treated as a technical issue: how much is available, how to manage it and how to keep it clean. But as drought and water scarcity put increasing pressure on the Netherlands, decisions about water increasingly involve choices between competing interests. At this edition of #DemocracyDrinks in collaboration with Blue Drinks, we explored what those choices mean for democratic decision-making: from how water is shared and who pays for its management, to how local decisions connect to wider European water systems.
Six months after the U.S.-led operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from office, Venezuela's political future remains deeply contested. While some international actors describe the current period as a democratic transition, many of the country's institutions, power structures, and patterns of repression remain largely unchanged. This has fueled growing debate over whether Venezuela is experiencing a genuine democratic opening or a new form of externally managed governance.
Excluded minorities, a reduced space for criticism, communal violence against human rights defenders, and a lack of transparency and accountability are what the rise of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the rule of Modi’s government have established as the current reality of India.
