Against a backdrop of geopolitical instability and mounting electoral setbacks, Europe’s liberals are redefining what it means to defend ‘liberal democracy’.
And increasingly, the language of rights, markets and European integration is being supplemented and at times overshadowed by a new political priority: security.
“Security and democracy are not separate – nor is democracy sequential to security,” Carolin Johnson head of policy at European Partnership for Democracy told EUobserver.
This shift comes at a moment of vulnerability for Europe’s liberal family.
Across the continent, centrist-liberal parties have suffered significant electoral setbacks over the past few years. In 2023, Spain’s Ciudadanos, once one of Europe’s fastest-rising centrist forces, effectively disappeared from national politics.
