In defense of Democracy, fighting against extremism

In defense of democracy, fighting against extremism
September 2025

In a time of political polarization and global instability, with democracy under threat in many quarters, we, the undersigned Nobel laureates, affirm the importance of democracy and multilateralism and, accordingly, we write in support of the Initiative of 20 countries to promote democracy by strengthening institutions, addressing income inequality and tackling the online information ecosystem.

As Nobel laureates, we especially commend the leaders participating in the Democracia Siempre initiative for their firm commitment to reason and their agreement that despite the different worldviews of their members, the facts cannot be falsified. We also respect their firm commitment to peace, respect for international law and international humanitarian law.

We support the emphasis on the importance of quality information and news in order to inform the public, promote constructive civil engagement and promote democracy. Indeed, Freedom of Expression is an internationally recognized human right. We are especially concerned about the chilling effects on free press, free speech and academic freedom that have occurred in many countries and the chilling effects of defamation suits against journalists around the world; as well as from the immense power of amplification of mis/disinformation that has been ceded to tech platforms and now the Generative AI
companies.

We commend the leaders for their commitment to convert lofty principles into concrete actions and look forward to working together in the future to support this important initiative.

Sincerely,

Joseph E. Stiglitz
Nobel laureate, Economics, 2001.

Maria A. Ressa
Nobel laureate, Peace, 2021.

Klaus von Klitzing
Nobel laureate, Physics, 1985.

Wole Soyinka
Nobel laureate, Literature, 1986.

Óscar Arias
Nobel laureate, Peace, 1987.

Elias J. Corey
Nobel laureate, Chemistry, 1990.

Richard J. Roberts
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1993.

José Ramos-Horta
Nobel laureate, Peace, 1996.

William D. Phillips
Nobel laureate, Physics, 1997.

Jody Williams
Nobel laureate, Peace, 1997.

Louis J. Ignarro
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 1998.

Anthony J. Leggett
Nobel laureate, Physics, 2003.

J. M. Coetzee
Nobel laureate, Literature, 2003.

Shirin Ebadi
Nobel laureate, Peace, 2003.

Aaron Ciechanover
Nobel laureate, Chemistry, 2004.

Barry J. Marshall
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2005.

John C. Mather
Nobel laureate, Physics, 2006.

Edmund “Ned” Phelps
Nobel laureate, Economics, 2006.

Andrew Z. Fire
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2006.

Roger D. Kornberg
Nobel laureate, Chemistry, 2006.

Orhan Pamuk
Nobel laureate, Literature, 2006.

Eric S. Maskin
Nobel laureate, Economics, 2007.

Mario R. Capecchi
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2007.

Martin Chalfie
Nobel laureate, Chemistry, 2008.

Jack W. Szostak
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2009.

Leymah Gbowee
Nobel laureate, Peace, 2011.

Tawakkol Karman
Nobel laureate, Peace, 2011.

May-Britt Moser
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2014.

Edvard I. Moser
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2014.

Joachim Frank
Nobel laureate, Chemistry, 2017.

Richard Henderson
Nobel laureate, Chemistry, 2017.

Michel Mayor
Nobel laureate, Physics, 2019.

Gregg L. Semenza
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2019.

Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2019.

Roger Penrose
Nobel laureate, Physics, 2020.

Guido W. Imbens
Nobel laureate, Economics, 2021.

Annie Ernaux
Nobel laureate, Literature, 2022.

Narges Mohammadi
Nobel laureate, Peace, 2023.

Geoffrey Hinton
Nobel laureate, Physics, 2024.

Daron Acemoglu
Nobel laureate, Economics, 2024.

Gary Ruvkun
Nobel laureate, Physiology or Medicine, 2024.

Oleksandra Matviichuk
Center for Civil Liberties, Peace 2022

His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Nobel laureate, Peace, 1989.