The Democracy and Security International Conference agenda is designed to explore the proposition that there exists a direct linkage between the promotion of democracy and the strengthening of security. The policy focus of the conference aims to examine this linkage delineated in recent statements and publications by Natan Sharansky and Jose M. Aznar.

The connection between human rights and political relations became a guiding principle for the Helsinki Process and a central theme in the writings of Vaclav Havel, Natan Sharansky and other freedom fighters. The Helsinki process helped set the stage for the end of the Cold War and has become a subject of intense historic scrutiny and discussion.