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.
Policy Analysis
Scholarly Publications
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.
Solutions to Political Polarization in America
April 2015
According to many commentators, political polarization is at an all-time high in American politics.
News
Nate Persily on Trends in Polarization
August 2016
As part of Stanford Worldview's Wide Angle: Election 2016 Project, Nate Persily of Stanford Law School recently described how the 2016 election highlights changing trends in polarization and...
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.
Five foreign policy questions for Obama and Romney
October 2012
With the third and final debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney set to focus on foreign policy, researchers from the Freeman Spogli Institute ask the questions they want answered and...
Events
Conference on Democracy and its Discontents
October 9, 2015
The Program on American Democracy in Comparative Perspective is holding a conference on Democracy and its Discontents on October 8-10 in Budapest, Hungary.
Lobbying and Campaign Finance
November 14, 2014
On November 14-15, the Program on American Democracy in Comparative Perspective hosted a conference on Lobbying and Campaign Finance.
*Change of Speaker* Geography and Gridlock in the United States
November 21, 2013
Speaker bio: Jonathan Rodden is a professor in the political science department at Stanford who works on the comparative political economy of institutions.
People
Francis Fukuyama Senior Fellow Director, Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy, Professor, by courtesy, Political Science 
