Paper
McKenzie Carrier, Thomas Carothers
Programs
Democracy, Conflict, and Governance
About the Program
The Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is a leading source of independent policy research, writing, and outreach on global democracy, conflict, and governance. It analyzes and seeks to improve international efforts to reduce democratic backsliding, mitigate conflict and violence, overcome political polarization, promote gender equality, and advance pro-democratic uses of new technologies.
U.S. Democratic Backsliding in Comparative Perspective
Program Experts
Sophia Besch
Senior Fellow, Europe Program
Saskia Brechenmacher
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Frances Z. Brown
Vice President for Studies; Acting Director, Africa Program
Thomas Carothers
Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies; Director, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar
President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Sarah Daly
Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program
Francis Fukuyama
Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Rachel Kleinfeld
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Beatriz Magaloni
Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Jennifer McCoy
Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Ben Naimark-Rowse
Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Andrew O’Donohue
Nonresident Scholar, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Latest Work
Commentary
From Sudan to Ukraine, UAVs have upended warfighting tactics and become one of the most destructive weapons of conflict.
Jon Bateman, Steve Feldstein
Commentary
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Sophia Besch, Steve Feldstein, Stewart Patrick, …
In The Media
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In The Media
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Collection
U.S. Democracy Under Pressure
In recent years, multiple international indices have downgraded U.S. democracy. Polarization, accusations of voting irregularities, political violence, and other negative trends are having a corrosive influence on the state of U.S. democracy and leaders’ ability to govern, address domestic problems, and craft stable policies. This project brings together the work of scholars across the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who analyze the problems afflicting U.S. democracy based on comparative perspectives and offer insights that can strengthen U.S. governing institutions and society.
Article
In a context of democratic erosion, U.S. civil society organizations face a widening array of legal, political, and security threats. They can learn from the experiences of civic activists in backsliding democracies around the world.
Saskia Brechenmacher
Paper
Over the past two decades, dozens of governments have used regulations, laws, and vilifying narratives to restrict the ability of civil society organizations to act and speak. Now, a similar set of tactics is being rolled out in the United States. What should philanthropists and organizations expect, and what can be done?
Rachel Kleinfeld
Paper
What can be done about polarization in the United States? Reviewing a decade of research reveals unexpected findings.
Rachel Kleinfeld
Digital Feature
Explore the Global Protest Tracker
A one-stop source for following crucial trends in the most significant antigovernment protests worldwide since 2017.
