1. Are there some practical examples around climate change or broader globalthreats to disenfranchisement?
The next few decades will be characterised by increasing challenges for Australia, with converging threats posed by climate change, geopolitical tensions, resource constraints, health insecurity, and artificial intelligence. Each of these will create challenges for Australia’s democracy, including for the ability for Australians to participate in democratic and electoral processes.
In its 2024 report, the Strengthening Democracy Taskforce in the Department of Home Affairs listed a “new constellation of challengesto Australia’s democracy”,1 namely: foreign interference; artificial intelligence; social media and digital platforms; misinformation and disinformation; dissatisfaction with government and governing; inequality; discrimination and intolerance; and polarisation and division. These challenges – as well as climate change and other global threats – could disenfranchise voters and reduce the ability of ordinary citizens to contribute to the democratic process. Recent events have provided a powerful example of how these forces are shaping democratic and electoral processes. Last year was the biggest election year in history with over 65 countries conducting national elections with around 2 billion eligible voters. According to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), in 2024, elections in at least 18 countries were affected by natural hazards, impacting millions of voters around the world.2
