Resources
In addition to our Defending Democracy events and case studies, we’ve continued to develop follow-up resources since 2019.
And we recommend some resources from others which provide valuable comparative insight (international or historical) to better understand unprecedented challenges to American democracy today.
These resources will be periodically updated.
2022:
Local and Global Civic Engagement Success Stories
2021:
Contributing to the Summit for Democracy
Seize the Moment: How to Revive the US OGP Process with the Biden Administration
2020:
TALK: Post 2020 Election: What Just Happened? Where Do We Go From Here?
OP-ED: What happened when other Trump-like Leaders got re-elected?
OP-ED: Stay alert until every vote is counted: A U.S. election observer’s message
Public 2020 Election Resource Guide
OP-ED: What the Movement for Black Lives Can Learn from Tunisia’s Revolution
2019:
OP-ED: All over the globe, plenty of lessons for American democracy reformers
Available Tactics in a Closing Civic Environment
Common Threats in a Closing Civic Environment
5 Lessons from Abroad for American Democracy, and How to Fix America’s Broken Political System
Listen to a 10-minute talk that Open Gov Hub Director Nada Zohdy gave at a January 2022 Democracy Dinner about successful local and global civic innovations and a key lesson from abroad for today’s American democracy movement.
Throughout 2021, we participated in Working Groups to help shape the planning of the Summit for Democracy - including the Biden Administration’s domestic and international commitments on democracy reform.
Open Government Partnership (OGP) was co-founded by President Obama in 2011 as the leading global platform to promote more open governments. The domestic OGP process became dormant during the Trump Era. How can the Biden Administration revive the domestic Open Government Partnership process, as a vehicle to bring together democracy reformers in and outside of government to tackle top national priorities? Read the paper here.
On December 16, 2020 Nada Zohdy gave remarks at a democracy funders conference about how the US 2020 Election compares to international trends, and how we can face the present challenges and opportunities to American Democracy in light of international examples. Watch the 12-min video here.
Published the day after 2020 US Presidential Election Day, this op-ed written by Nada Zohdy offers three timely examples for Americans to learn from - from India, Russia, and Hungary - of what happened when anti-democratic populist leaders similar to Trump got re-elected.
A clear message from former career US diplomat Ambassador Mark Asquino: “We all have a role to play to defend American democracy if we want to make sure we avoid the sort of electoral rigging I saw so often overseas.
We crowdsourced a public resource guide, compiling information and tools to help uphold and defend democracy before, during and after the 2020 US elections.
Mohamed Bouazizi's death kicked off the Arab Spring. Will George Floyd's killing be a tipping point for the U.S. struggle against systemic racism? Written by Adnen Ben Hadj Yahia and Nada Zohdy.
Op-Ed highlights all the top level takeaways from two years of exploring lessons from abroad to defend American democracy at home, written by Nada Zohdy and Ben Raderstorf.
An infographic that showcases tactics that are available to grass root movements and professional NGOs in a closing civic environment (produced for a scenario planning convening in 2020 organized by the Democracy Fund).
An infographic explaining the threats that grassroots movements and professional NGOs face in a closing civic environment (produced for a scenario planning convening in 2020 organized by the Democracy Fund).
Check out a 5-minute Spark Talk and takeaways from Open Gov Hub Director Nada Zohdy’s participation in the 2019 Unrig the System national conference organized by RepresentUs.
Other Recommended Resources
A 2018 book from two Harvard political science professors that uses historical comparative analysis to explain how elected leaders can gradually subvert democratic processes to grow their power over time.
A collection of essays from writers from Russia, Turkey, India, Hungary, Chile, China, Canada, Italy, who wrote soon after the US 2016 elections to advise Americans what to expect under a new regime, and give guidance for Americans living in the Trump era.
In 2017 a conference entitled Populist Plutocrats: Lessons from Around the World was hosted at Harvard Law School that we attended. It was a rich gathering of academics and practitioners that highlighted numerous examples of Trump-like “populist plutocrat” leaders across countries in recent decades - from South Africa to Thailand, Peru, Italy and more - and compared lessons from these different experiences. Videos of the conference sessions are available here.
A 2013 book that takes readers inside the battle between dictators and those who would challenge their rule, reflecting on how authoritarian leaders have adapted more sophisticated tactics, and how those who are opposing them are trying to respond.
An essay from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about how ideas, experiences, and lessons from other countries are not panaceas but, if properly researched, disseminated, and discussed, they can magnify the reform moment in the United States.
Even More Recommended Resources….
From Dictatorship to Democracy, and 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action (Gene Sharp)
Fighting the Hydra: Lessons From Worldwide Protests Against Corruption (Sarah Chayes)
Curtailing Corruption: People Power for Accountability and Justice (Shaazka Beyerle)
Rules for Resistance: Advice from Around the Global for the Age of Trump (David Cole and Melanie Wachtell Stinnett)
The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics