Collective memory is essential to the future of democracy.
The achievements of liberal democracy—from universal suffrage and human rights to women’s rights, minority protection, social justice, and peaceful reconciliation—cannot be taken for granted. At a time of increasing polarization, democratic backsliding, and contested historical narratives, understanding how societies remember their past has become central to strengthening democratic citizenship and civic participation.
The SSHRC Partnership Development Grant (2026-2028) Mnemonic Democracy: Collective Memory, Civic Education, and Democratic Engagement brings together researchers, museums, archives, and civil society organizations from Canada and Europe to examine how collective memory can foster democratic resilience through comparative research, Memory Labs, digital initiatives, and public engagement.
The project builds on earlier EUCAnet and Centre for Global Studies initiatives, including Populism and its Effects on Liberal Democracy: Minority Rights and Freedom of Speech (SSHRC), Governing Irregular Migration and Refugees – Towards Pragmatic Approaches and Effective Policies in a Transatlantic Perspective (Konrad Adenauer Foundation Canada), and Europe–Canada Dialogue on Democracy: Democratic Deficit and the Rise of Populism (Erasmus+), extending this research agenda by placing collective memory at the centre of democratic renewal.
Video Series on Democracy
Find more interviews with our scholars
Events
Milestones
Debates Open to Public: Public lectures, webinars, social media
Students Education: New graduate level class for students at UVic
Publications: Books, journal articles, and special journal issues
Policy Development: High-profile public forum in Ottawa
Key Questions
Modern liberal democracy strikes a compromise between the constitutionally enshrined protection of individual and minority rights on the one hand and the majority rule of the people institutionalized in elections on the other. Our empirical investigation into four national case studies in Europe (Austria, Italy, Germany and Poland) is informed by this tension between democracy and liberalism and looks into how populism often exploits and accentuates it. See also our Canada – Europe Dialogue on Democracy Project (CEDoD)
