Common Good Theme

 

 

Stay tuned for information on our
2025-2027 Theme of InquiryCommon Ground:
Cities, Towns, and Counties Confronting Shared Challenges
 
 2023-25 Theme
Defending Democracy

 

When polarization threatens to overwhelm the public square, how can we strengthen the habits, values, and trust that will sustain our democracy into the future?

 

In May we wrapped up our two-year theme of inquiry exploring the crisis of democracy in the United States by reckoning with problems and considering solutions.

Ongoing problems include attacks on government institutions and the rule of law, dysfunction in political parties, dishonesty in media and social media, the spike in authoritarianism at home and abroad, and targeted attacks on vulnerable populations, NGOs, government agencies, public servants, and members of the judiciary. 

Effective solutions include active civic engagement--especially at the local, county, and state level--along with defense of the rule of law; meaningful inclusion, equality, and freedom; participation in civil dialogue; building community; and mutual aid.

Danielle Allen smiles in front of a backdrop of trees.

Danielle Allen

2024-25 Wayne Morse Chair of Law and Politics

Danielle Allen is a political theorist and 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.

Events 

Resident Scholars

Erica Bornstein, a white woman with short hair and glasses
Erica Bornstein
Department of Anthropology
“Nonprofit Lives: Navigating Democracy through the Nonprofit Form in Global Perspective"
Joel Sati smiles in front of a backdrop of foliage
Joel Sati
School of Law
“Streamline: Illegality, Exception, and the Enemy Criminal Law”

 


 

Graduate Research Fellows

Troy Brundidge
Troy Brundidge
Department of Geography
“Fix the cops: Qualified Immunity and State-Federal Conflict”
Mary Follo
Mary Follo
Department of Political Science
"Progressive Policy, Regressive Outcome: The Oregon Case in State Preemption of Housing Policy”
Haifa Souilmi
Haifa Souilmi
Department of Political Science
“Unmaking Democracy: Civil Society, Media, and Democratic Backsliding in Tunisia and Hungary”

Project Grants

Civics Learning Project’s workshops in Southern, Central, and Eastern Oregon will give teachers tools to create safe spaces in class, so students learn to engage in constructive discourse on contentious issues.

Eugene Friends of the Farm Workers will hold an Oct. 10 event in conjunction with the Farm Worker Rights Movement exhibit at the Lane County History Museum. The event will raise awareness of and support for PCUN. 

Oregon League of Women Voters Youth Council will engage their peers in voter registration drives, youth-led workshops, and a Civic Engagement Summit to encourage them to amplify their voices in our democracy.

Next Up provides on-ramps for youth to engage in local democracy: Leadership academies teach organizing skills to build collective power. Internships train students to plan and lead voter registration drives. 

Rural Organizing Project and Hood River Latino Network will provide a training hub and civic engagement workshops for new citizens, rural voters, and rural youth voters.

 

2023-24 Defending Democracy affiliates and events