Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is housed in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
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Embracing the Limits of a Liberal Dream
March 2020
“Accommodate a despotic ruler if you have to,” says Stephen Krasner, a Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies in his forthcoming book How to Make...
Presidential candidates advance by being divisive. We can do better than that.
December 2019
"What if we had a better way to select presidential nominees, one that didn’t reward appeals to the most ideologically committed voters and donors in each party?
An Existential Moment for Democracy?
December 2019
“What saves citizens from the knock on the door in the dead of night, from the risk of being silenced or removed, is a constitution, a robust body of laws, an independent judiciary to enforce them,...
What if There’s a Better Way to Handle Our Democratic Debate?
September 2019
"There’s a better way for the American people to grapple in depth with the issues we face at the start of the primary season.
Are Strong Parties the Answer?
August 2019
"Responsible Parties convincingly shows that across many countries narrow interests can subvert or coopt the policy-making process.
Playing with Fire on Election Security
July 2019
"If one foreign power continues to shred, on an ever-more daring basis, the integrity and inviolability of our electoral process, other foreign powers will draw lessons and follow.
Fisher Family CDDRL Honors Program 2019-20
May 2019
We are proud to announce our next year's cohort of CDDRL Honors Program students!
R. Kent Weaver joins CDDRL as visiting scholar
January 2019
Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is pleased to welcome R.
Identity: The Demand for Dignity and The Politics of Resentment
December 2018
"The way that the economy has developed over the past generation is actually gone contrary to a lot of the existing economic models.
Do we need a new understanding of national identity?
December 2018
CDDRL Mosbacher Director Francis Fukuyama says for BBC we need national identities that unite rather than divide us. Watch here.
Democratic Capitalism’s Future
December 2018
"Are democracy and capitalism compatible? Or, to put it differently: What made democracy and capitalism compatible for decades, even centuries, and what strains this relationship today?
Scholars Discuss Growing Evidence of China’s Interference in American Government and Society
December 2018
While Americans may be well acquainted with China’s quest for influence through the projection of power in the diplomatic, economic, and military spheres, they are less aware of the various ways in...
Report cites concerns about Chinese influence on American institutions
December 2018
The following report was originally published by the Hoover Institution.Scholars from the Hoover Institution, the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and other organizations today...
Are 'identity politics’ really a threat to democracy?
December 2018
CDDRL Director, Francis Fukuyama talks in an interview for Al Jazeera how identity policy is hurting democracy. Watch here.
Francis Fukuyama on the Root of 'Identity' Politics
December 2018
CDDRL director Francis Fukuyama believes America's increased political polarization can be traced back to a universal desire for recognition.
Stephen Stedman, advocate for undergraduate education, leads Stanford’s Faculty Senate
November 2018
CDDRL Deputy Director Stephen Stedman is named a chair to the Stanford University Faculty Senate. Read more about his work, legacy, and aspirations here.
American Institutions Are Holding Up—But Are Americans?
September 2018
"The midterm elections in November will be some of the most important in American history.
A Victory For Democratic Reform
June 2018
"In what may be looked back upon as the most important election in the United States in 2018, the voters of Maine rejected political cynicism on Tuesday and preserved ranked-choice voting (RCV) for...
CDDRL's Stephen Stedman receives Stanford’s 2018 Dinkelspiel award
June 2018
CDDRL Deputy Director Stephen J. Stedman received the 2018 Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award For Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education.
Don’t Undermine Democratic Values in the Name of Democracy
December 2017
How NOT to regulate social media: "To say that digital technology has disrupted society is already a cliché.
How to Reverse the Degradation of Our Politics
November 2017
"The United States and its liberal democratic allies must develop a new global strategy to counter the power projection of expansive autocracies and to reboot an international campaign to promote...
Looming Threats to Liberal Democracy
November 2017
In The American Interest podcast host Richard Aldous speaks with Larry Diamond about a potential crisis brewing for liberal democracy. Listen here.
People
Didi Kuo Senior Research Scholar, CDDRL, Associate Director for Research, CDDRL Academic Research & Program Manager, American Democracy in Comparative Perspective 
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 
Michael Bennon Research Scholar, CDDRL Program Manager, Global Infrastructure Policy Research Initiative 
Francis Fukuyama Senior Fellow Director, Ford Dorsey Master's in International Policy, Professor, by courtesy, Political Science 
