Thirty years after the Copenhagen Declaration, the 2025 World Summit for Social Development in Doha reaffirmed democracy as essential to social development. Written initially to inform the Summit, this report draws on International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy Indices and scholarly research to show that democracy remains a powerful enabler of inclusive, equitable social progress and shared prosperity.

The evidence is clear: democracies tend to achieve higher political equality and basic welfare with far lower corruption, and high-quality democracies perform best of all. The report also shows that rule of law, representation and rights protection are key to ensuring gains are shared fairly—and that when democracies fail to deliver, trust can erode and support for authoritarian alternatives can grow. Overall, it rejects claims of an ‘authoritarian advantage’ and argues that advancing democracy and social development together is vital to renewing the social contract and achieving the 2030 Agenda.