This Week’s Events
in the Global Democracy Initiative
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These events are part of the Global Democracy Initiative – from Election to Governance. In Year 1 (2024-25), the Initiative focused on pivotal elections when almost half of the world’s population went to the polls. In Year 2, we’re expanding our focus to examine not only upcoming elections but also their aftermath, aiming to better understand how electoral outcomes shape governance, public policy, and the resilience of democratic institutions worldwide.
Chile at a Crossroads: The 2025 Elections and the Future of Democracy
Tuesday, November 18 | 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
Held just two days after Chile’s national elections, this session will explore the immediate implications of the vote. As Chile navigates pressing debates around economic reform, constitutional change, and democratic governance, our expert panel will analyze what the results signal for the country’s future, and for democracy across Latin America and beyond. Moderated by SIS professor and dean emeritus Louis Goodman, the discussion features Eric Hershberg (School of Public Affairs), Elisa Walker Echenique (Sarmiento and Walker), and Michael Shifter (Georgetown University).
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When Aid Fades: Assessing Impacts on Global Democracy and Security
Wednesday, November 19 | 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
A powerful new International IDEA–led report, under the umbrella of the Global Democracy Coalition, reveals the global impact of slashing $14 billion in governance assistance across 1,600 organizations and empirically examines how these reductions are affecting democracy and security worldwide.
Annika Silva-Leander (International IDEA), Kizito Byenkya (Open Society Foundations), Susanna Campbell (SIS professor), and Carl LeVan (SIS professor and chair of the Department of Politics, Governance, and Economics) will discuss how they are navigating this changing environment and what these shifts mean for global governance, democratic resilience, and security. The discussion will explore both the immediate consequences and the long-term implications of declining international support for democratic institutions—and what can be done to reverse the trend.
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The Middle East: Struggles for Justice, Rights, and Peace Amid Mass Atrocities and Military Interventions
Wednesday, November 19 & Thursday, November 20 | Abramson Family Founders Room
This two-day symposium honors the late Dr. Abdul Aziz Said’s legacy by convening scholars, activists, and policymakers to explore paths toward justice and peace in the region. Through keynote addresses, panel discussions, and interactive dialogues, the symposium will examine how domestic repression, foreign intervention, and international inaction contribute to cycles of violence and instability. At the heart of the symposium are voices often excluded from policy conversations—local peacebuilders, human rights defenders, civil society leaders, and transnational solidarity networks—who are working toward a more just and peaceful Middle East.
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Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right
Tuesday, November 18 | 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
Join us for a book talk with Laura Field, Visiting Scholar-in-Residence at SIS, on her new book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right, which chronicles the rise of the New Right—the network of academics, public intellectuals, and influencers who provide ideological fuel to Trumpism. She will be joined in conversation by Samuel Kimbriel (Aspen’s Philosophy & Society Initiative), Osita Nwanevu (The New Republic, The Guardian), Sarah Posner (author of UNHOLY: How White Christian Nationalists Powered the Trump Presidency, and the Devastating Legacy They Left Behind), and Patrick Thaddeus Jackson (SIS professor and chair of the Department of Global Inquiry).
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The Payback of Decolonization: Capital Expropriations as Post-Colonial Bargaining, 1954-1998
Tuesday, December 2 | 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
Simon Bittmann (University of Strasbourg) explores how private capital shaped colonization, fueled anticolonial unrest, and constrained postcolonial sovereignty. Patrick Thaddeus Jackson (SIS professor and chair of the department of Global Inquiry) provides opening remarks.
Focusing on compensations paid by former colonies to French firms between 1954–1998, Bittmann shows how independence often failed to bring economic freedom as nationalizations required costly payouts to shareholders, echoing the indemnities once paid to slave owners after Haiti’s revolution.
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Many of our past events are available for viewing.
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