Democracy Now & Next
90-864
Units: 3
Description
Today, perhaps the most critical threat to the advancement of democracy worldwide are homegrown ones, which are easily exploited and amplified by adversaries. Democracies everywhere have been struggling to deliver to their populations, especially since the financial crisis of 2008, enabling the rise of populists. Economic and social ills have become entirely entwined with political outcomes. The scale of the 2020/2021 criseshealth, economic, racial, environmental, and politicalhave now decisively affected the US ability to promote democracy and counter the global rising tide of authoritarianism. The information ecosystem, driven by technology, has contributed enormously to disinformation and polarization. The Trump Administration's delayed acceptance of the outcome of the 2020 US election along with active attempts to overturn the results including through mob violence and bureaucratic maneuversplays straight out of a dictator's handbook that the US government routinely calls as serious foulsare symptoms of democracy in deep distress. This moment, though, can enable once in a generation reform of how the US engages with democracy at home and around the world. New approaches, themes, and methodsparadigm shiftscan help revitalize US strategy and policy. President Biden has made the argument about how the health of democracy at home affects our ability to work overseas. This class will include a series of conversations with experts enmeshed in thinking through these issues to provide the Carnegie Mellon community with a front seat to these time sensitive policy conversations occurring within the Administration including in the aftermath of the first Summit for Democracy.
Learning Outcomes
Students will attend five public sessions with experts, in addition to seven additional one hour small group discussions to go deeper into the ideas covered in the public sessions. Students will be required to write a five page paper in the form of a memo to the incoming Administration with ideas about how to refresh and reframe US approaches to advancing democracy at home and around the world and will present briefly these ideas to the group.