PERSPECTIVE Democratic Expeditions Reclaiming democracy through ­online civic education Anja Neundorf The power and paradox of democracy I was born in the German Democratic Republic , a state that called itself democratic but denied its citizens the rights that democracy requires. Decades later, in my home village in ­ Thuringia, more than 40 per cent of voters now support the far-right Alternative for Germany(AfD) . During the national election campaign in early 2025, their posters proclaimed“Take a chance on more democracy!“ and“ Complete the transition“ (Wende vollenden). Their rallies echoed the old GDR chant “ Wir sind das Volk“(We are the people), but this time turned against liberal institutions, migrants and the European Union. This is far from not an isolated story. In 2023, Turkey’s Presi ­dent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared after re-election that the country had“celebrated a festival of democracy“, even though election observers had criticised the fact that the campaign had been heavily skewed in favour of his ruling party(Esen and Gümüşçü 2023). In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán proudly describes his system as an“illiberal democracy“. In Russia, tightly controlled elections are mere masquerades to provide the fiction of popular legitimacy. Across continents, autocrats and extremists cloak them ­selves in democratic language. They claim to speak for“the people“, to stand for“true democracy“ against corrupt elites or foreign influences. The word“democracy“ has become so powerful, so morally charged that everyone wants to claim it. But this very universality creates a paradox: when every­one claims democracy, its meaning becomes hollow. Democracy’s moral appeal lies in the promise of fairness, equality and voice. Yet that same power makes it vulnera ­ble to manipulation. When people no longer understand what democracy truly entails; when they equate it only with elections or majority rule; its liberal foundations can quietly erode, even as its symbols remain intact. Ballots are cast, parliaments meet and constitutions endure, but plu ­ralism, rights and accountability fade. When people misjudge democracy The global rise of populist and authoritarian movements reveals how fragile democratic understanding has become. Surveys show that many citizens define democracy primarily through procedural features, such as free elections, majority rule and government responsiveness, while n­ eglecting Reclaiming democracy through ­online civic education 1