Lessons for the Global Contest Between Autocracy and Democracy

The Elizabeth H.L. Bonkowsky Memorial Lecture Series Presents: Lessons for the Global Contest Between Autocracy and Democracy

 
The common wisdom that autocrats are prevailing in the global contest with democracy is simplistic. Yes, some still cling to power, but the dangers of autocratic rule have become glaringly apparent, their methods for retaining power are increasingly desperate, and the publics in their countries are repeatedly rejecting their rule. To give democracy a better chance, proponents should support it more consistently abroad and present a better model for democratic rule at home.

Join the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy featuring the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation’s Future of Democracy initiative on October 9, 2023, at 5 p.m. for a keynote address from Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch. A graduate of Yale Law School and Brown University, Roth has conducted numerous human rights investigative and advocacy missions around the world, meeting with dozens of heads of state and countless ministers. Roth is currently writing a book, Righting Wrongs, about the strategies used by Human Rights Watch to defend human rights. Beginning in September 2023, he will be the Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor at the Princeton School for Public and International Affairs.

About the Elizabeth H.L. Bonkowsky Memorial Lecture Series

This lecture series was established by the Bonkowsky family at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy in 2023 in honor of Dr. Elizabeth Leitch Bonkowsky. The series promotes public understanding and advocacy of democratic and human rights work across the globe. Dr. Bonkowsky was a diplomat whose numerous award-winning works while at the U.S. State Department were key for statehood and independence of democratic Kosovo. She also helped to increase democracy and human rights work in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia and in former communist East Germany. Dr. Bonkowsky completed graduate work at Columbia, Harvard and Boston University and served as president of the UC San Diego Oceanids and as a leader in many church and civic activities. She was a history professor at the University of Massachusetts and earlier taught in New York City’s public schools.