Building Democracy, One Community at a Time

Sofija Kirsanov, Montenegro

I am Sofija Kirsanov, and I come from Montenegro, a country once described as a regional leader in democratic transition and European integration, now confronting many of the same warning signs seen across the globe. Today, more than one in four signatories of the Warsaw Declaration is experiencing some amount of democratic backsliding, with the formal institutions of democracy intact in many, but their substance eroded.

Montenegro fits this pattern. Though we hold elections and maintain democratic structures, we have not cultivated the political culture necessary to sustain them. A recent survey shows that only 1 in 4 Montenegrin youth would choose a democratic leader, while authoritarian, populist, and paternalistic profiles attract stronger support. More than half say they do not trust any politician at all. These numbers reflect disappointment and a lack of belief in democracy, caused by the lack of positive outcomes of a poorly managed democratic transition.

As early as 1776, the U.S. Declaration of Independence affirmed that governments derive their legitimacy from “the consent of the governed” and that people have the right to alter or abolish any form of government that becomes destructive to their rights. But these truths are not evident to those who have never seen them upheld. When citizens lose sight of what democracy promises, it becomes harder to defend and easier to dismantle.

The Warsaw Declaration, adopted in 2000, develops those same ideas, postulated two centuries ago, about what liberal democracy is meant to be: open, inclusive, grounded in rule of law and human rights, and responsive to the voices of its people. History has taught us that these principles, with no exaggeration, mean life or death. This is why I dedicated my work to protecting them.

Back in 2021, I co-founded the Network for Youth Activism of Montenegro (MOACG), now the country’s largest youth-led civic organization. We have worked on our mission with over 11,500 participants and 500 volunteers, and delivered more than 200 events, campaigns, and workshops across the country. Our initiatives span anti-corruption, open governance, environmental action, nonformal education, civic mobilization, and freedom of speech. Through MOACG, we opened a platform for participation in areas long neglected by national politics.

As the Montenegrin ambassador in the European Democracy Youth Network (EDYN), I worked to reduce polarization and increase cross-party dialogue among emerging leaders, in a region where trust is fragile and party lines run deep. Through work inside and outside of the Parliament, I supported electoral reform with a focus on increasing youth access to political processes and ensuring broader public accountability. I advocate for the rights of those whose democratic voice is often denied. I believe defending women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities is central to democracy.

Among these efforts, the most meaningful work has not taken place in shiny Parliament halls, but in small, overlooked communities. In towns far from the capital, I have seen what happens when young people are invited to think critically, speak publicly, and organize collectively. Their transformation, sometimes in a single afternoon, proves that democracy is taught; it is built, not inherited.

Still, that work comes with challenges. As a young woman in a patriarchal, traditionalist society, I have often been dismissed or underestimated. But the barriers are bigger than me. Activists and journalists have been facing increasing political pressure in recent years. Legal proposals have threatened to ban protests and limit foreign-funded civil society. Our voices have been shut down by intricate actions in a deliberate narrowing of civic space. These actions strike directly at the values of the Warsaw Declaration, which my country promised to uphold even before I was born.

Despite that, I remain hopeful. Young people in Montenegro today are the first to grow up in an independent, democratic state, free from war and imperialism. We have the opportunity to live the dream our ancestors fought for. We are more connected, more informed, and more exposed to democratic standards than any generation before us.

That belief was reinforced through my experience in the YouthLeads cohort, where I joined twelve young leaders from around the world, many of whom I do not share a race, a nationality, a language, a religion with; we are thousands of kilometres apart. But we share something deeper: a true passion for democracy; a belief that it is the best form of government, one that allows for the pursuit of happiness by every individual.

As expressed by the great bard of democracy Walt Whitman, democracy demands “the love of comrades”: solidarity, shared struggle, and commitment to collective dignity. To love, to share and to find community are the basic, primal needs of humans, rooted in all of us. That simply means: democracy lives in each one of us. Democracy IS each one of us. So, let’s make sure we keep it alive.