Study Group with Mike Donilon

Democracy 2025

In this first session, we will take an overview of the issue of Democracy in 2025 and ask the most fundamental of questions: Is it in crisis? Yes or No. If so, how? If not, why? And what does that mean? For the country? And in people’s lives?

We will then briefly touch on the various questions we will raise throughout the semester: 

• If democracy depends on an informed citizenry, how can it survive in an age of disinformation?
• Can America still be America in a moment where anti-immigration sentiment is rising?
• It's often said that for democracies to survive, they have to deliver economically for their people. What happens in a prolonged period of economic dissatisfaction?
• What was the role of the democracy issue in the 2024 election? Was it a missed opportunity? How about across the world?
• What can we learn from what is happening to democracies around the globe?
• How should we look at the democracy issue today from an historical perspective? Is it more at risk? Have we been here before? What does history tell us about where the issue is heading?

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address. 

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.