Retreat or Resilience? Responding to Global Democratic Decline

Hybrid

Join leading experts as they explore how democracies can fight back against authoritarian threats and build resilience.

A protestor holds up a sign reading "WANTED DEMOCRACY" at a protest in France on July 31, 2021.

Sep

Adrienne Surprenant / AP

Speakers

Susan Stokes
Norman Eisen
Leslie Vinjamuri

Date and Time

Sep 16: 5:30 - 6:30 pm CDT

Doors Open: 5:15 pm

Location

Chicago Council Conference Center, 130 E Randolph Street or via YouTube

Who Can Attend

For All

COST AND REGISTRATION

Admission: Complimentary

About the Event

Democracies worldwide are facing serious challenges from rising authoritarian movements, eroding trust in institutions, and growing political polarization. Across different countries and political systems, troubling patterns of democratic backsliding are emerging alongside powerful examples of institutional and citizen resilience. As governmental and non-governmental actors move to restrict voting rights and press freedoms or weaponize courts and electoral processes, what can democracies do to resist (or reverse) democratic erosion? Where is democracy fraying and where are democracy actors fighting back? Join us for a conversation with Susan Stokes and Norman Eisen, moderated by Leslie Vinjamuri, as they examine the lessons learned from democracies and democracy actors around the world.

This program is a partnership between the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Brookings Institution, and the Chicago Center on Democracy.

Copies of Susan Stokes’ book, The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies, will be available for sale and signing at the program.

About the Speakers

Susan Stokes

Tiffany & Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor and Director, Chicago Center on Democracy, University of Chicago

Susan Stokes is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake distinguished service professor of political science at the University of Chicago and director of the Chicago Center on Democracy. She has written or coauthored six books, including her latest, "The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies."

Norman Eisen

Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings Institution

Norman Eisen is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings and current chair of the Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security project. Previously, he served as special counsel and special assistant to President Obama for ethics and government reform and was US ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014.

Leslie Vinjamuri

President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She brings more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of international affairs, research, policy, and public engagement.

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