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‘Envisioning Democratic Futures’
Brett McGurk, whose career in U.S. foreign policy and national security includes top White House and State Department positions under four presidents, will be a keynote speaker at the Boston College Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy spring symposium on March 21 and 22.
This year’s symposium, titled “Envisioning Democratic Futures,” will feature presentations and panels on such topics as global trends in liberal democracy; the impact of migration and refugees on democratic politics; descriptive representation and democratic futures; AI and democracy; and religious nationalism, minorities, and democracy.
[In-person registration is closed. Find more information on the speakers and schedule, and register to attend virtually, at the Clough Center website.]
Keynote speaker Brett McGurk
Also appearing as a keynote speaker will be diplomat and international relations scholar Philip Gordon, who served as assistant to the president and national security advisor to the vice president in the Biden administration.
“The world’s democracies have been rocked by the previous year of elections around the world; more than two billion voters were called to the polls, in a variety of circumstances,” said Professor of Political Science and Clough Center Director Jonathan Laurence, who is among the BC faculty members speaking at the symposium. “This has revealed a clash of philosophies and ideologies, but it has also illustrated the contest of raw power—of economic resources and communications strategies—that can contribute to, or undermine, democratic institutions and outcomes.
Keynote speaker Philip Gordon
“During our seminars and events this academic year, student fellows and faculty affiliates have taken a step back from this fraught environment, to engage with the annual theme of ‘Envisioning Democratic Futures.’ They will help us take stock of where our democracies are heading.”
Other BC faculty participating in “Envisioning Democratic Futures” include Paul Romer, R. Shep Melnick, Mary Murphy, Kathleen Bailey, Aziz Rana, Fernando Bizzarro, Marsin Alshamary, Peter Krause, and Michael Serazio.
Among the other speakers are Anina Schwarzenbach, who studies sociology, criminology, and political science; Bryn Rosenfeld, a co-principal investigator of the Russian Election Study project; social ethicist and public theologian Nicholas Hayes-Mota; and national security and defense expert Spencer P. Boyer.