Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Media
Scholarly Publications
Governance Innovation for a Connected World: Protecting Free Expression, Diversity and Civic Engagement in the Global Digital Ecosystem
November 2018
The emergence of a global digital ecosystem has been a boon for global communication and the democratization of the means of distributing information.
The Meaning and Limits of Freedom of Expression in Lebanon: Publications Court Jurisprudence on Freedom of Expression vs. Defamation
November 2016
AbstractIn light of the legal issues raised by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) trial (April to June 2015) against the Lebanese Al-Jadeed television on charges of contempt of court and...
Voting and Peer Effects: Experimental Evidence from Mozambique [Jan. 2015]
April 2015
Voter education campaigns often aim to increase voter participation and political accountability.
Other Publications
Public Broadcasting in Ukraine: What Does it Take to Break Decades of Inertia and an Avalanche of Resistance?
July 2017
On March 25, 2014 Zurab Alasania became the newly appointed Head of NTKU (National TV Company of Ukraine) and faced the challenges of creating a public broadcasting institution.
News
Democracy World with Francis Fukuyama
January 2017
"I don't think anyone, including many in the media themselves, would say that they are somehow completely political neutral, but a much deeper assertion was made where even factual statements and...
Bassem Youssef Joins ARD as a Visiting Scholar
October 2016
The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy (ARD) at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is pleased to welcome international media figure and Egyptian political...
Authoritarianism Goes Global
March 2016
In a recent piece in The American Interest, FSI Senior Fellow Larry Diamond, alongside Christopher Walker and Marc Plattner of the National Endowment for Democracy, describe how undemocratic states...
Events
The Unfinished Arab Spring Ten Years on: Where Are We Going?
January 4, 2021
ABSTRACT This talk is based on the speakers’ recently published edited volume The Unfinished Arab Spring: Micro-Dynamics of Revolts between Change and Continuity.
A Conversation with Hisham Matar
April 9, 2018
This event is co-sponsored with The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies.Hisham Matar was born in New York City to Libyan parents, spent his childhood in Tripoli and Cairo, and has lived most of his...
Saudi Arabia: Can Economic Reform Succeed without Political Change?
November 15, 2017
ABSTRACTThe formation of Saudi Arabia’s anti-corruption commission and the arrest of dozens of princes and former ranking officials have brought to focus the prospects for political and economic...
Projects
CDDRL Conferences
CDDRL conferences bring together leading thinkers, academics, and practitioners to share research and exchange ideas on the most pressing issues in the field of democracy, development, and the rule...
English
The Dynamics of Violence in Mexico’s Drug War
Since December 2006, more than 50,000 drug-related murders have taken place in Mexico.
English
Political Reform Prospects in Yemen
As in much of the Arab world, 2011 was a year of social upheaval and momentous change for Yemen.
English
Multimedia
A Vibrant Public Sphere: A Key to Arab Democracy?
November 2015
Belabbes Benkredda is an award-winning social innovator, open debate advocate and the founder of the Munathara Initiative, the Arab world’s only online and television debate forum open to anyone.
Francisco dos Santos, “People’s Images” from Favela’s Observatory
June 2015
This talk is presented in Portuguese. To view more media from the conference, please visit: http://cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/multimedia/povgov-conference-2015 ----Speaker Bio: Francisco Valdean Alves dos Santos, a 34-year-old originally from Ceará...
Valnei Succo, Favela’s Observatory (Rio de Janeiro)
June 2015
This talk is presented in Portuguese. To view more media from the conference, please visit: http://cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/multimedia/povgov-conference-2015 ----Speaker Bio: Born in the Baixada Fluminense and raised in Rocha Miranda in Rio’s North...
People
Michael A. McFaul Director, Senior Fellow Professor, Political Science, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution 
Lanhee J. Chen Affiliated Faculty David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, Hoover Institution, Director of Domestic Policy Studies and Lecturer, Public Policy Program 
Nathaniel Persily Co-director, Cyber Policy Center, Senior Fellow Professor, Law, Professor, by courtesy, Political Science, Professor, by courtesy, Communication 
