The Brooks School Center on Global Democracy hosted “Democratic Mobilizing: Comparative Responses to Backsliding Threats,” a hybrid event that attracted 120 participants and was streamed live from Goldwin Smith Hall on Cornell’s Ithaca campus.

Rachel Beatty Reidl, Peggy Koenig ‘78 Director of the Brooks School Center on Global Democracy and professor of government in the College of Arts and Sciences, moderated the panel, which included: David Bateman, associate professor of government (A&S) and public policy; Suzanne Mettler John L Senior Professor of American Institutions (A&S); Kenneth Roberts, Richard Schwartz Professor of Government (A&S); and Sidney Tarrow, Emeritus Maxwell Upson Professor of Government (A&S) and Adjunct Professor, Cornell Law School. 

"We are excited to offer programming that helps people understand through historical and comparative analysis how democracies are eroded by authoritarian regimes while also offering up examples and strategies for how people successfully organize and mobilize to strengthen democracies," said Reidl.

"This is a critical moment for democracies around the world and it's important that we use our expertise and our research analysis to instigate public conversations about how to keep democracy healthy."

The discussion focused on how authoritarian regimes have successfully used democratic institutions to consolidate control, erode checks and balances, and threaten key democratic institutions like free and fair elections, rule of law, legitimacy of political opposition and the integrity of civil rights. The panelists discussed historical and contemporary strategies for democratic mobilization and resistance, including overcoming barriers to heterodox democratic coalitions and joining party organizations to activate their democratic practices.

Watch the "Democratic Mobilizing: Comparative Responses to Backsliding Threats" event recording here.

The Center on Global Democracy

Housed at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, the Center on Global Democracy, tackles the fundamental questions facing democracies, serving as a hub for research and learning to strengthen democratic institutions. Through targeted research and public engagement, we aim to reverse democratic declines and bolster democracy worldwide.