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As authoritarianism solidifies, democracy is declining across the world, with political polarization as one of the most pressing challenges. Political parties are increasingly being targeted by illiberal actors with a common agenda to aggravate division between parties and to weaken functioning multi-party systems.
In times of anti-democratic backlash and increased political polarization, public trust in political parties is worryingly low. Parties are increasingly perceived as elite-driven and unrepresentative of the public because of corruption, populism and greater financial costs of engaging in politics. While political parties should play a key role in democratic governance – responsibly aggregating citizen’s concerns into policy as well as; vetting, selecting and influencing political leaders – they often struggle to do so, further alienating the public.