After the fall of the Berlin Wall, democracy seemed destined to spread inexorably around the world. One generation later, many scholars see democracy as endangered or in urgent need of reform. While new challenges -- from climate change to the rise of AI -- threaten to radically disrupt global society, democratic political systems have come under increasing pressure from internal problems as well, not least resurgent populism, pervasive misinformation, and a growing disenchantment with democratic institutions. But if democracy’s future is riddled with obstacles, it also promises new possibilities. Might tomorrow’s technologies, for example, redress some of the problems that today’s have created? Could the climate crisis prompt a shift toward more democratic and sustainable forms of political economy? Will the global scale of today’s challenges spur greater citizen participation or enhance cooperation among democracies?

To engage these questions from a variety of angles, the Clough Center has dedicated the 2024-25 academic year to the theme “Envisioning Democratic Futures.” We launch our year-long exploration of that theme with our Fall Colloquium on October 10th, which features an exceptional set of speakers. The colloquium will open with a keynote address by Hélène Landemore (Yale), a political theorist renowned for her bold vision of a more radically participatory and deliberative democracy, and the potential of new technologies to create it. It will continue with a panel discussion featuring leading scholars Theda Skocpol (Harvard), Daniel Ziblatt (Harvard), and Justin Vaïsse (Paris Peace Forum), on the present state and future prospects for democracy in the U.S. and around the world. Finally, the colloquium will close with a keynote presentation by the journalist Susan Glasser, The New Yorker, on the stakes and possible outcomes of the 2024 elections in the U.S.

Please join us for the Clough Center’s major event of the fall, and a worthwhile kickoff to our annual theme.