Experts Discuss ‘Democracy and the Rule of Law Under Pressure’ at Symposium

“Over the past two decades, the world has experienced a wave of backsliding on democracy and the rule of law,” said McCourt Chair R. Daniel Kelemen, noting that while the number of democratic countries had been growing for decades, since the mid-2000s, that number has declined alongside an increase in authoritarian leadership worldwide. “Universities can play a special role in providing forums where scholars, policy practitioners, students [and] concerned citizens can come together to better understand the dramatic phenomena that are unfolding before us.”

Co-hosted by Professor Gregory Shaffer and Kelemen, and co-sponsored by Georgetown Law’s Center on Congress and Democracy and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, the day-long symposium featured four panel discussions, a keynote address by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and a closing dialogue on the future of American democracy between Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Anne Applebaum of Johns Hopkins University and political scientist Daniel Ziblatt of Harvard University.

‘The fight of our lives’

During a virtual keynote address, Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined his views on the threat of authoritarianism in the U.S. following the 2024 presidential election and the role of institutions such as the Supreme Court in addressing domestic public corruption. “These are dark and troubling times for rule of law in the United States,” said Whitehouse, citing the presidential administration’s recent freezing of foreign aid and dismantling of anti-foreign corruption efforts.

“At home, we are seeing the ingredients of authoritarianism and autocracy emerge in unprecedented ways,” he said, citing the influence of such factors as “dark money” in politics and unlawful behavior among government officials. “That puts us into the fight of our lives to protect our rule of law.”

Whitehouse’s address was preceded by a panel discussion on the Americas moderated by Professor Victoria Nourse in conversation with speakers Professor Michele Goodwin, Brendan Nyhan of Dartmouth College, Lilliana Mason of Johns Hopkins University and Professor Emeritus Robert Kaufman of Rutgers University.

“I am grateful to all of the speakers, panelists and audience members who joined us for today’s insightful and wide-ranging discussions,” said Shaffer following the symposium. “Now more than ever, it is vital for scholars, policy officials, legal advocates and experts to collaborate and exchange ideas as we work to defend democratic and rule-of-law norms and values at home and abroad.”

Lessons from the U.S. Constitution

During the concluding dialogue, Applebaum and Ziblatt discussed their work in the context of the day’s broader discussion of authoritarianism, corruption and democratic backsliding. Despite the urgent threats posed by the erosion of democracy and the rule of law, the experts expressed optimism about the persistence of democratic values.

“I think there’s a fundamental appeal of the language [of the U.S. Constitution],” Applebaum said, noting that advocates ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have drawn upon its ideas of freedom and justice in their defense of human rights. “I have a belief that those ideas can continue to inspire people. [Very often] when you begin to lose your rights and you lose your democracy … people begin to understand the value of it even more.”

“Democracies protect the basic civil rights and fundamental freedoms that everybody values better than any other system in the world,” Ziblatt noted. “We have to continue to make the case for that.”

Click here to view a full recording of the symposium’s first panel, a discussion on The Rule of Law Under Pressure, a new book edited by Professor Shaffer, as recorded by C-SPAN. Click here to view a full recording of the symposium’s third panel, on the rule of law and democracy in Europe, as recorded by C-SPAN. Click here to view a full recording of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s keynote address, as recorded by C-SPAN. Links to additional panels will be added as they become available.