Is Authoritarianism Staging a Comeback?

A discusssion with:
Peter Ackerman
Founding Chair
International Center on Nonviolent Conflict 

Paula Dobriansky
Senior Fellow
The Future of Diplomacy Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Harvard University

Damon Wilson
Executive Vice President
Atlantic Council

Moderated by:
Mr. Frederick Kempe
President and CEO
Atlantic Council

A discussion with:
Dennis Blair
Chairman of the Board
Sasakawa Peace Foundation

George A. Lopez
Vice President, Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding
United States Institute of Peace

Regine Spector
Assistant Professor of Political Science
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Moderated by:
Matthew Burrows 
Director, Strategic Foresight Initiative, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
Atlantic Council

Maria J. Stephan
Senior Policy Fellow
United States Institute of Peace
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Strategic Foresight Initiative, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security

Atlantic Council
 

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The past few years have marked the beginning of a tumultuous period for global governance. Across the world, we have seen threats to international order and a disruption of longstanding political norms and values as authoritarians get smarter and persist undeterred. With authoritarianism on the rise in many of the world’s most strategically important regions, new questions emerge regarding the diffusion of power, the rise of sometimes violent nonstate actors, and the future role of the nation-state. Developing an appropriate strategy for the advancement of human rights and the support of nonviolent civil resistance movements is thus proving to be one of the most challenging policy dilemmas for the United States and other democracies.

On April 21, the Atlantic Council will be hosting a public discussion of these challenges in recognition of the release of its forthcoming publication, Is Authoritarianism Staging a Comeback? This discussion will feature multiple leading experts on nonviolent civil resistance and authoritarian states, and will explore the range of issues and case-studies examined within this book of essays. 

Atlantic Council CEO and President Mr. Frederick Kempe will begin by moderating a discussion on countering authoritarianism between Dr. Peter Ackerman, Dr. Paula Dobriansky, and Mr. Damon Wilson. This will be followed by a discussion of the issues raised in the book itself, featuring Adm. Dennis Blair (USN, Ret.), Dr. George A. Lopez, and Dr. Regine Spector, moderated by Dr. Mathew Burrows and Dr. Maria J. Stephan.

Please join the Atlantic Council on Tuesday, April 21 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for what promises to be an enriching discussion on this critical issue. The reception will be begin around 6:30 p.m. 

 

This event is open to press and on-the-record.

VISITING THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL:  Metro and parking info