A program of the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). CDDRL is a research center at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
Democracy
Scholarly Publications
Comparing America: Reflections on Democracy across Subfields
September 2019
Is America in a period of democratic decline?
Transparency and Governance
October 2015
Bruce Cain argues in "The American Interest" that greater transparency can undermine good governance by allowing undue influence of discrete interests and by creating inefficiencies.
Electoral Integrity in the United States
October 2015
Stephen Stedman argues in 'The American Interest" that efforts to improve American electoral integrity through reforms such as non-partisan election administration can protect the vote and restore...
Other Publications
Conference Report: Lobbying and Campaign Finance [November 2014]
April 2015
On November 14-15, the Program on American Democracy in Comparative Perspective hosted a conference on Lobbying and Campaign Finance.
Conference Report: Electoral Systems Reform in the U.S. [Mar. 2014]
January 2015
The Program on American Democracy in Comparative Perspective hosted a workshop on electoral systems on March 14-15, 2014.
News
Fixing American Democracy
October 2015
Scholars with the American Democracy in Comparative Perspective Program at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law published a series of articles in the latest edition of...
Stanford Conference examines Congressional budget policy
October 2015
While John Boehner was able to avoid a government shutdown this month, his successor as Speaker of the House will face another potential shutdown in December over budgetary matters.
Diamond on ending the Presidential-Debate duopoly
May 2015
In a recent article in The Atlantic, CDDRL Director Larry Diamond argues that third-party candidate participation in presidential debates is an essential next-step for democracy in the U.S.
Events
Parties, Representation, and Governance in the 21st Century
October 22, 2018
Has the age of party democracy passed?
#Republic: Divided Democracy in an Age of Social Media
February 13, 2017
As the Internet grows more sophisticated, it is creating new threats to democracy.
Election 2016: Recapping the Presidential Race
October 10, 2016
**We are no longer accepting RSVPs. This event is at capacity. Please join us via Facebook Live.** The Presidential Election of 2016 has been unlike any in modern American history.
Projects
American Democracy Conferences
The Program on American Democracy in Comparative Perspective hosts conferences on issues of critical importance to democracy and effective governance.
English
American Democracy Events
The Program on American Democracy in Comparative Perspective hosts diverse events, including workshops and seminars, to engage the scholarly community in specific aspects of American governance....
English
Multimedia
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective
May 2015
AbstractAmerican democracy differs greatly from other democracies around the world. But is the American way more or less efficacious than comparable democracies in Asia, Latin America, or Europe? What if the United States had a prime minister...
The Partisan Divide: Congress in Crisis
February 2015
Talk DescriptionFormer Congressmen Tom Davis and Martin Frost present the keys to fixing a broken Congress in this talk on their new book, The Partisan Divide: Congress in Crisis, a powerful and important new work by two former congressional...
Blueprint for Bipartisanship: A Conversation with Senator Olympia Snowe and Jason Grumet
November 2014
On Tuesday, November 11, CDDRL welcomed former Senator Olympia Snowe and Jason Grumet, president of the Bipartisan Policy Center.
People
Didi Kuo Senior Research Scholar, CDDRL, Associate Director for Research, CDDRL Academic Research & Program Manager, American Democracy in Comparative Perspective 
Francis Fukuyama Senior Fellow Director, Fred Dorsey Master's in International Policy, Professor, by courtesy, Political Science