The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) was established in 2002 — a more optimistic time for the spread of democracy, development, and good governance. In the wake of the end of the Cold War democratic governance was on the rise, buoyed by economic growth and technological advancements.

Twenty years later, however, the world looks very different. Democracy is under threat globally from populism, authoritarianism, and inequality. Technological change has proven to be both a force for positive change and a tool in the hands of leaders seeking to enhance social control rather than enable freedom. The research, education, and training programs at CDDRL have made important contributions in adapting to this trajectory of change over the last two decades.

Please join us for a roundtable discussion commemorating the Center's 20th anniversary with CDDRL directors past and present reflecting on two decades of global transformation.

PANELISTS:

Coit Blacker is a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), the Olivier Nomellini Professor in International Studies in the School of Humanities and Sciences, and the Olivier Nomellini Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education. He served as FSI's director between 2003 and August 2012. From 2004 to 2007, he was a member of the Stanford Board of Trustees Committee on Development. Since 2005 he has served as faculty co-chair of the International Initiative.

Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. He is also professor by courtesy of Political Science and Sociology at Stanford.

Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Director of the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy. He is also a professor (by courtesy) of Political Science. From 2015 to 2021, he served as the Mosbacher Director of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

Michael McFaul is Director at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995.

Kathryn Stoner is the Mosbacher Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, and a Senior Fellow at CDDRL and the Center on International Security and Cooperation at FSI. From 2017 to 2021, she served as FSI's Deputy Director. She is Professor of Political Science (by courtesy) at Stanford and she teaches in the Department of Political Science, and in the Program on International Relations, as well as in the Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy Program. She is also a Senior Fellow (by courtesy) at the Hoover Institution.