RAI Contributes to “Defence and Democracy Dialogue: Fortifying Freedom” Conference in Sofia

Sofia, Bulgaria – November 2025 – The Regional Anti‑Corruption Initiative (RAI) participated in the high-level conference “Defence and Democracy Dialogue: Fortifying Freedom”, organised by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) in Sofia. The event convened policymakers, experts and civil society representatives to explore how democratic institutions can be reinforced amid evolving hybrid threats and corruption-related risks.

The Director of RAI, Albert Hani, took part in the panel discussion “Securing Democracy: Preventing State Capture”, where he shared vital insights from the Western Balkans region and emphasised anti-corruption as a core element of democratic resilience.

Strengthening Democracy Through Integrity and Cooperation

In his intervention, Mr Hani made several pointed observations:

“Democracy is not resilient simply because institutions exist; it becomes resilient when integrity, transparency and accountability are embedded in every decision-making process. The risk of state capture is real in transition regions, and unless we build mechanisms of prevention today, we may wake up tomorrow to find our democracies hollowed out. Our work at RAI is about connecting the dots: regional cooperation, multi-stakeholder approaches, and putting anti-corruption firmly into the heart of security and democratic policy.”

Representing RAI, he highlighted the organisation’s regional approach: promoting whistle-blower protection, open public procurement, asset disclosure, and support for independent oversight bodies — all key to closing the “capture gap”.

Key Messages from the Panel

Moderated by Ruslan Stefanov, Programme Director at CSD, the panel featured distinguished speakers, including Daniel Mitov, Minister of Interior of Bulgaria and Assia Ivantcheva, Senior Director, Europe Program, National Endowment for Democracy. The discussion centred on how corruption and opaque political financing can weaken democratic resilience and open pathways for external manipulation.

Key take-aways included:

– Strong oversight and transparency in political and economic decision-making are essential.

– Harmonised legal frameworks across jurisdictions are needed to counter foreign interference and corruption.

– Institutional resilience — including independent judiciary and free media — underpins democratic security.

– Enhanced regional cooperation is a bulwark against state capture and democratic erosion.

Mr Hani brought the Western Balkans’ experience to the fore, noting: “In our region, we have seen that when anti-corruption efforts falter, democratic gains become vulnerable. Therefore, regional cooperation isn’t optional — it’s imperative.”

RAI’s Continued Commitment

RAI remains steadfast in supporting member states to advance integrity, transparency and accountability as the foundations of good governance. Participation in forums such as the CSD’s Defence and Democracy Dialogue reinforces RAI’s role in the regional and European discourse on safeguarding democratic values through anti-corruption collaboration.

“Preventing corruption is preventing democratic backsliding. The two are inseparable,” Mr Hani concluded.

Through initiatives on whistle-blower protection, asset disclosure, public procurement transparency and capacity-building of institutions, RAI continues to promote regional approaches that contribute to fortifying democracy through integrity.

Background

The “Defence and Democracy Dialogue: Fortifying Freedom” conference, held by CSD, forms part of an ongoing regional initiative aimed at countering corruption and authoritarian influence while reinforcing democratic security. More details and summaries are available via CSD’s platform.

We thank CSD for the invitation and look forward to further collaboration in strengthening Europe’s democratic fabric.