Is democracy heading toward a depression? CDDRL Director Larry Diamond answers in a recent Foreign Policy piece, assessing the challenges of overcoming a global, decade-long democratic recession. With much of the world losing faith in the model of liberal democracy, Diamond believes the key to setting democracy back on track involves heavy reform in America, serious crackdowns on corruption, and a reassessment of how the West approaches its support for democratic development abroad. 

In a recent interview with NPR, Larry Diamond provides insights and analysis on some of the most pressing political developments confronting the world today. 

In August, CDDRL’s Draper Hills Summer Fellows program marked its 10-year anniversary by welcoming 20 of its alumni back to Stanford for a weeklong reunion.

Supported by Ingrid Hills and Bill and Phyllis Draper, the program brings practitioners from across the developing world to Stanford for a three-week intensive academic training program on democracy, good governance and rule of law reform. 

From Afghanistan to Venezuela, the program’s alumni form a network of over 250 leaders working under some of the most adverse conditions.

Fellows apply the academic lessons - taught by leading Stanford faculty - to practical problems in their countries. Many learn how to use technology to expose corruption, draw on case studies to improve the quality of public administration and borrow examples from history to build institutions in the aftermath of revolution.

An alumni network program - supported by the Omidyar Network - host’s global workshops, Stanford reunions and a robust communication platform to connect this global community of democratic leaders.

During the reunion, alumni attended sessions led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Michael McFaul who has just returned back to Stanford after serving as U.S. ambassador to Russia.

While back on campus, some alumni found the occasion to reflect on the program and its impact on their professional and personal lives. Their inspiring stories are testament to the incredible work they are doing to build democratic systems in some of the most complex corners of the world.

Fighting for Democracy in Ukraine

When the EuroMaidan protests started in November 2013 in Kiev, Andriy Shevchenko (09’) was in Independence Square calling for the resignation of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych. It was there that he reflected on the lessons from the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program on social mobilization as he helped translate the demands of protesters into political action.

Shevchenko, who was elected to parliament in 2006, is one of nine fellows from Ukraine who are part of a new generation of leadership working to move their country away from Russian influence and towards greater European integration. Working as journalists, civil society leaders and politicians, these fellows are pushing for democratic institutions and political accountability in a country transitioning towards democracy.

Before joining politics, Shevchenko was a journalist and founded the first independent 24-hour news channel – 5^th Channel – which covered the events surrounding Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution.

Shevchenko describes the program as “one of the greatest experiences of his life” because of the knowledge, friendships and inspiration he gained from his participation in the program. Leaving the program with an expanded interest in human rights, Shevchenko now serves as the first deputy chairman of the Human Rights Commission in Ukraine.

While the struggle for democracy continues in Ukraine, Shevchenko will draw on the program’s teachings and the strength of the peer community during these challenging times.

Empowering Women through Education in Afghanistan

Sakeena Yacoobi (08’) understands firsthand how education can change a life. After receiving her degree in the U.S., Yacoobi returned to Afghanistan with a mission to empower women and children through access to quality education. In 1995, Yacoobi founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) and set off to change the system of education – often operating underground due to threats from the Taliban – by training a network of teachers and opening women’s learning centers.

Yacoobi was overwhelmed with interest from women seeking education and in decades AIL has set up 300 learning centers in 12 provinces, serving over 11 million people in Afghanistan. Training is at the heart of AIL’s model and Yacoobi has applied much of what she has learned from the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program to offer civic education to AIL’s students.

As the country emerges from over three decades of conflict, Yacoobi credits the Program and its curriculum in democracy and leadership for inspiring Afghan citizens to be more civic minded and involved in democratic processes - such as voting. Recognizing the current political struggles that Afghanistan faces, Yacoobi hopes that these important lessons will help to build a greater democratic culture for the country’s future generations. 

Building New Institutions of Democracy in Argentina

Laura Alonso (12’) never envisioned herself as a politician. With an esteemed career in civil society as the head of the Argentine chapter of Transparency International, she had always operated outside of the political system. But one day she realized that she might be more effective inside government. 

In 2009, Alonso was elected as a member of Congress for the city of Buenos Aires and began to advocate for greater transparency and reform Her push for better governance has often put her at odds with her party and the subject of attacks, but she continues to defend her reform agenda.

Re-elected to a second term of Congress in 2013, Alonso has set out to improve the quality of democracy in Argentina by strengthening institutions that deliver public services and to help steer the country in a different direction. From time to time, she has been able to reflect on the case studies taught in the Draper Hill’s Summer Fellows Program by Francis Fukuyama to inform her policymaking.   

While Alonso is unsure of what her future may hold - may it be in politics or elsewhere - she will continue to raise her voice when necessary to make the government more accountable to the people of Argentina.

Defending Civil Society in Russia

Anna Sevortian (06’) served as the Russian director for Human Rights Watch when the crackdown on civil society began in 2011. Non-profit organizations (NGO’s) receiving foreign funding were labeled as foreign spies and forced to register their operations with the Russian government.

Sevortian describes this repressive environment as reminiscent of Soviet times when propaganda and inspections were common practice. Cut off from funding, many NGO’s supporting important social needs have been forced to shut their doors.

A longtime journalist, Sevortian spent three years at Human Right’s Watch in the height of this crackdown documenting worsening conditions for civil society and also covering Belarus, Ukraine and the North Caucuses.

It was during this period that one of the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program’s founding faculty members - Michael McFaul - was serving as U.S. ambassador to Russia and Sevortian was able to raise human rights concerns to him directly.

Sevortian now serves as the executive director for the newly launched EU-Russia Civil Society Forum in Berlin, a platform designed to amplify the voice of civil society. Despite the deteriorating situation in Russia, Sevortian hopes to use the forum to help encourage the growth and development of civil society in Russia and Europe. 

In this week's Politico, David Remnick has written a lengthy piece about former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul's rocky tenure in Moscow, as Vladir Putin came back into power as president and U.S.-Russia relations began to deteriorate.

Michael A. McFaul, a FSI senior fellow and CISAC affiliated faculty member, writes in this Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law that while the U.S. and Europe maintain pressure on Putin through sanctions, the West also needs to get serious about strengthening Ukraine.

"So far, Ukrainians have done more to thwart Mr. Putin than any action by outside powers," says McFaul. "The West can likewise do more to help the Kiev government win hearts and minds in eastern Ukraine."

And in a Politico magazine piece by McFaul earlier this week, he argues that Putin today sees a path to glory that does not involve democratic governance and ignores international norms.

"Putin dreams of comparisons with Peter the Great or the Catherine the Great," writes McFaul, who was ambassador in Moscow from January 2012 until this February, when he returned to Stanford as a political science professor at FSI's New Yorker.

"But if we judge him by his ability to achieve even his own stated goals, his record is not so great. He has achieved some objectives aimed at restoring Russia to the position of global greatness he believes it deserves, but failed at achieving those most important to him. And the future looks even darker."