Chicago Center on Democracy

09/03/2025

"Widening Inequality Will Further Erode US Democracy"
Our Faculty Chair, Susan Stokes, recently published her research on the anti-democratic effects of income inequality. Read her article at the link below.

Susan Stokes considers the implications of Donald Trump’s policy agenda, which is heavily skewed in favor of the rich.

04/15/2025

The Chicago Center on Democracy invites you to join us for a film screening of the 2018 documentary ¡Las Sandinistas! This feature documentary film tells the overlooked story of the women who fought in Nicaragua’s Sandinista Revolution.

Join us for a post-screening discussion with one of the film’s central figures, Dora María Téllez– a former medical student who rose to become a major Sandinista General. Téllez is a Nicaraguan historian, politician, and social rights activist and was the Fall 2024 Cisneros Visiting Fellow at Harvard University. She will share her experiences, insights, and reflections on the documentary via Zoom, followed by an audience Q&A.

RSVP: https://t.co/j8upPAZN8f

02/20/2025

The Chicago Center on Democracy, the Center for Effective Government, the International Institute of Research in Paris, and the John W. Boyer Center in Paris are excited to present our public panel event, "The University in a Time of Democratic Erosion"!

We will be looking at global examples of the ways that countries experiencing democratic erosion have seen universities targeted, through attempts to purge faculty, restrict student attendance, cutting public funding, replacing university leaders, and the like.

Our esteemed panelists include Cristina Corduneanu-Huci, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Central European University; Julio Ríos Figueroa, Associate Professor of Law, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México; Susan Stokes, Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago; and William Howell, Dean, School of Government and Policy, Johns Hopkins University. The panel will be skillfully moderated by Gretchen Helmke, Thomas H. Jackson Distinguished University Professor, University of Rochester.

This event is open and free to the public (snacks and refreshments will be provided). For those not in Paris, we also have the option to join virtually over Zoom! 🇫🇷🇫🇷

Please use the QR code, or this link in our bio to register for in-person or virtual attendance: https://events.uchicago.edu/event/democratic-erosion

05/21/2024

Thank you to everyone who showed up to our Ice Cream Sundae study break tomorrow, and participated in our Alternative Voting Methods survey experiment where we voted on our favorite ice cream sundae toppings!

And, a special thank you to Professor Andrew Eggers for giving us an intro to alternative voting methods; to UChiVotes for co-sponsoring this event, and to our brilliant Student Advisory Board members who put together this incredible survey! 👏

05/20/2024

TODAY AT 2:30 PM!

Come indulge in some ice cream sundaes at our voting study break!

05/16/2024

TODAY (MAY 16th) AT 5 PM!

The Chicago Center on Democracy presents our Quarterly Democracy Core Lecture: “Redeeming The History of In*******al Democracy in the American South,” by Professor Jane Dailey.

Join us at Rosenwald Hall Room 011 for a great lecture and Insomnia cookies! 🍪

NOTE that this is a HYBRID EVENT: use the QR code to register for the Zoom link!

05/13/2024

The Chicago Center on Democracy and the Committee on Environment, Geography, and Urbanization (CEGU) present Brian Balogh (Professor of History, University of Virginia) in conversation with Sarah Fredericks (Associate Professor of Environmental Ethics; also in the College and Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization) on Balogh’s book Not In My Back Yard: How Citizen Activists Nationalized Local Politics in the Fight to Save Green Springs.

Published in January 2024, Not In My Back Yard tells the story of “how a woman-led citizens’ group beat a Southern political machine by enlisting federal bureaucrats and judges to protect their neighborhood from unchecked economic development.”

RSVP LINK IN BIO!

05/07/2024

A few weeks ago, the Chicago Center on Democracy along with a group of 26 faculty members, students and community members, embarked on a Women’s Suffrage Tour around Chicago!🕊️

These photos were taken at various locations around Chicago that represent different aspects of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in Chicago - from the Jane Addams Hull House Museum where women congregated at to create social change, to a mural representing Kamala Harris’ famous words “I’m speaking!”

Find more events like this at democracy.uchicago.edu/events 🗳️🕊️

05/06/2024

HAPPENING THIS WEEK!

The Chicago Center on Democracy is co-sponsoring an upcoming event with and

Join us this Thursday May 9 for a conversation on “The Constitutional Bind” with author Aziz Rana. This event is the official welcome for the Law, Letters, and Society Class of 2026.

04/23/2024

The Chicago Center on Democracy would like to invite graduate students to our third Graduate Student Research Workshop of the year, featuring CCD Graduate Student Affiliate Pedro Huet, who will be sharing his research titled “Measuring Democracy: The Challenges of Ranking Democracy with Personal Data.”

The workshop will be held on Thursday, April 25th 2024 at 5:00 PM at the CCD lounge in Pick Hall Room 505. Please review Pedro’s project proposal ahead of the workshop so that you can show up with an understanding of how to offer feedback.

Please RSVP; dinner provided.🥗🥙