Miami Conference on Global Democracy
An international conference presented by Steven J. Green School of International Public Affairs in collaboration with Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation, George W. Bush Institute and Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies.
Monday, March 6, 2023 | 9 AM to 3:30 PM EST | FIU MMC, Graham Center Ballrooms | Free and open to the public
Join the conversation as we explore the phenomenon of contemporary democratic backsliding on a global scale. Guest speakers and expert panels will explore how waning public support for democracy, economic inequality and social tensions, populist politics, external pressures from great power competition, and the weakening of political institutions and processes have all contributed to a steady decline in democracy worldwide. What lessons can we draw to strengthen democracy across the globe?
9:00 AM — Registration and Breakfast
9:15 AM — Welcome Remarks
Shlomi Dinar, Interim Dean, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs
David Kramer, Executive Director, George W. Bush Institute
Peter Egardt, Chairman, Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation; Member of the Executive Board, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies; Former Under Secretary of State, Prime Minister's Office, Sweden
9:30 AM — Morning Keynote Address – Democracy, Illiberal Democracy, and Authoritarianism: The Ideological Cleavages of an Emerging Multipolar World
Introduction
Besiki Kutateladze, Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice
Keynoter
Christopher Walker, National Endowment for Democracy
Discussant
Marcie Washington, Department of Politics & International Relations
10:00 AM — Panel One – The European Front: Mitigating the Vulnerabilities of the Post-Cold War
This panel will explore how instability at the end of the Cold War derailed the consolidation of democracy on the continent’s eastern flank, highlighting the inexorable link between security and democratization, with a particular focus on the implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Introduction
Mihaela Pintea, Department of Economics
Panelists
Nino Evgenidze, Economic Policy Research Center
Jakub Klepal, Forum 2000
Tatiana Kostadinova, Department of Politics and International Relations
Oleh Rybachuk, Centre of United Actions
Moderator
David J. Kramer, George W. Bush Institute
11:00 AM — Panel Two – The Elusive Quarry of Latin America and the Caribbean: Structural Challenges to the Institutionalization of Democracy
This panel will explore historic and chronic forces that have prevented many countries in the region from establishing strong and enduring institutions, viable political parties, robust civil societies, and structures to protect civil liberties and human rights.
Introduction
Susannah Ali, Department of Public Policy & Administration
Panelists
Eduardo Gamarra, Department of Politics & International Relations
Jessica Ludwig, George W. Bush Institute
Brian Nichols, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Bianca Premo, Department of History
Moderator
Anthony Pereira, Kimberly Green Latin American & Caribbean Center
12:00 PM — Luncheon
12:30 PM — Luncheon Keynote Conversation – iWitness: Visual Journalism, Truth-Telling, and Democracy
Introduction
Rebecca Friedman, Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab
Presenters
C.W. Griffin, Miami Herald
Carol Guzy, Independent Photojournalist
Carl Juste, Miami Herald
Moderator
Ofelia Riquezes, Vaclav Havel Program for Human Rights & Democracy
1:15 PM —Panel Three – Stories from the Majority World: From Failed Governance to Model Democracies
From the Arab World to Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Indo-Pacific, this panel will explore why attempts to democratize the political space have succeeded in some countries and failed in others. What are the prospects for sustainable democratization across the Majority World?
Introduction
Jeanette Smith, Department of Religious Studies
Panelists
Nancy Okail, Center for International Policy
Eric Lob, Department of Politics & International Relations
Chiedo Nwankwor, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
Ambassador Martin Kimani, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya
Moderator
Juliet Erazo, Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies
2:15 PM — Afternoon Keynote Address– A Slippery Slope: The Waning of Democracy on a Global Scale
Introduction
Pascale Becel, Department of Modern Languages
Keynoter
Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, Freedom House
Discussant
Agatha Caraballo, Maurice A. Ferré Institute for Civic Leadership
2:45 PM — Closing Remarks and Adjournment
Sponsored by the Dorothea Green Lecture Series
Co-sponsored by Václav Havel Program for Human Rights & Democracy,
Center for International Business Education & Research and Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab