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Defending Democracy

2023-25 Theme of Inquiry

Join us in exploring the crisis of democracy in the United States by reckoning with problems and considering solutions.

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Events

Event: Conversation on Democracy's Future, featuring Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama
May 1
Conversation on Democracy's Future, featuring Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama 4:00 p.m.

Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at...
Conversation on Democracy's Future, featuring Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama
May 1
4:00–5:30 p.m.
Ford Alumni Center Giustina Ballroom

Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He also chairs the Hoover Institution Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region and is the principal investigator of the Global Digital Policy Incubator, part of Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center. Diamond has served as a consultant to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and advised and lectured to the World Bank, the United Nations, the State Department, and other agencies dealing with governance and development. His books include In Search of Democracy (2016), and The Spirit of Democracy (2008). He has edited or coedited some fifty books on democratic development around the world.

Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a faculty member of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. He is also director of Stanford's Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy. Fukuyama has written widely on issues in development and international politics. His 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man, has appeared in over twenty foreign editions. His latest book, Liberalism and Its Discontents, was published in May 2022.

This event is sponsored by the School of Global Studies and Languages, Global Studies Institute in the Division of Global Engagement, Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, and the Department of Political Science.

Free and open to the public. 

Event: Bridging the Impasse: 21st Century Practices for a Stronger Democracy
May 8
Bridging the Impasse: 21st Century Practices for a Stronger Democracy 3:00 p.m.

Join us for the annual Wayne Morse Chair Address featuring Danielle Allen, 2024-25 Wayne Morse Chair. Allen is a political theorist, professor at Harvard University and an...
Bridging the Impasse: 21st Century Practices for a Stronger Democracy
May 8
3:00–4:30 p.m.
Erb Memorial Union (EMU) Ballroom

Join us for the annual Wayne Morse Chair Address featuring Danielle Allen, 2024-25 Wayne Morse Chair. Allen is a political theorist, professor at Harvard University and an advocate for democracy. Her acclaimed book, Our Declaration, offers a profound analysis of American democratic principles. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Allen contributed crucial insights on equitable policy responses and effective governance. Allen received the Kluge Prize, which recognizes work in disciplines not covered by the Nobel Prizes, in 2020. In 2022, she ran for Governor of Massachusetts, emphasizing the need for systemic reform and inclusivity in state government. She writes a column on constitutional democracy for the Washington Post.

Sponsored by the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics as part of its 2023-25 theme, Defending Democracy. Cosponsored by the UO Office of the President. 

Videos of recent events

Peter DeFazio Annual Lecture: What Does It Mean to Defend Democracy Now? with E.J. Dionne

Can Non Profit Organizations do Political and Policy Advocacy? Featuring Mark Sidel

Finding Hope in Dark Times For Democracy, with Frances Moore Lappé

View more videos on our YouTube channel

Oregon Law 3L Clark Barlowe came to University of Oregon with an interest in American Indian Law, and thanks to a Wayne Morse Law Fellowship, he spent the summer getting real-world experience in the field with the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon.
Eugene Friends of Farm Workers received a Wayne Morse Center Project grant to promote and host two events at the Lane County Fairgrounds on October 10, 2024.
This year, the Wayne Morse Center selected more than 70 students to participate in its programs for undergraduates, law students, and graduate students.

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