The Fisher Family Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program at Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is now accepting applications for our summer 2027 program, which will run from Sunday, July 18, to Friday, August 6, 2027. The deadline to apply is 11:59 pm PST on Tuesday, January 12, 2027.

The program brings together an annual cohort of approximately 30 mid-career practitioners from countries in political transition who are working to advance democratic practices and enact economic and legal reform to promote human development. Launched by CDDRL in 2005, the program was previously known as the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program. The new name reflects an endowment gift from the Fisher family — Sakurako (Sako), ‘82, and William (Bill), MBA ‘84 — that secures the future of this important and impactful program.

From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, we select our program participants from among hundreds of applicants each year for the significant contributions they have already made to their communities and their potential to make an even greater impact with some help from Stanford. We aim to give them the opportunity to join a global network of over 500 alumni from 96 countries who have all faced similar sets of challenges in bringing change to their countries.

The Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program provides an intensive 3-week on-campus forum for civil society leaders to exchange experiences and receive academic and policy training to enrich their knowledge and advance their work. Delivered by a leading Stanford faculty team composed of Michael McFaul, Kathryn Stoner, Francis Fukuyama, Larry Diamond, Erik Jensen, and more, the program allows emerging and established global leaders to explore new institutional models and frameworks to enhance their ability to promote good governance, accountable politics, and find new ways to achieve economic development in their home countries.

Prospective fellows from Ukraine are also invited to apply for our Strengthening Ukrainian Democracy and Development (SU-DD) Program, which runs concurrently with the Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program. The SU-DD program provides a unique opportunity for mid-career practitioners working on well-defined projects aimed at strengthening Ukrainian democracy, enhancing human development, and promoting good governance. Applicants to the SU-DD program will use the Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program application portal to apply and indicate their interest there. You will then be directed to a series of supplemental questions specific to the SU-DD program, including requiring a detailed description of your proposed project.

At a CDDRL research seminar held on October 15, 2026, Christopher Dann, a pre-doctoral fellow at the Stanford Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law and a PhD candidate in Political Science at Stanford, presented his research on legitimacy and large-scale infrastructure in 21st-century autocracies.

His research centered on a puzzle: how have autocracies modernized so successfully in the 21st century while sustaining authoritarian rule? Dann argued that a sizable number of today’s autocracies cultivate reputations for delivery to build mass support for the regime. They do so by organizing development around large-scale infrastructure, which is unusually visible, durable, and difficult to reverse. These qualities make infrastructure a costly and lasting signal of a dictator’s developmental intent, and they give citizens credible reason to believe the regime is committed to the majority’s future welfare.

Dann began by noting that modernization theory expected economic development to bring democracy. Instead, the world has seen a democratic recession, and many regimes, including Vietnam, Rwanda, Serbia, and Türkiye, have modernized while remaining authoritarian. He explained that 20th-century dictatorships were relatively poor and fear-based, relying on repression, coercion, and ideology, and that they bought support cheaply through patronage and targeted transfers. Today, however, autocrats have moved from fear to competence. They favor a rhetoric of economic performance and public services, and the countries with the highest confidence in national government are fast-growing autocracies.

To test this, Dann used data, following a recently released World Bank report, on approximately 150,000 large-scale construction projects worldwide from 2005 to 2024, each costing at least $25 million. The data show that autocracies build more than democracies, spend roughly twice as much per year, and complete and cancel more projects. They also build more new infrastructure rather than maintain old stocks, and they concentrate on transport and energy while democracies put relatively more into education and healthcare. In addition, autocracies build at about a third of the cost per kilometer for transport projects. As Dann explained, these differences arguably stem from longer political time horizons, fewer institutional constraints such as veto points and regulatory hurdles, thus providing a comparative advantage for wealthy, stable autocracies.

To measure the political return, Dann combined nine existing survey datasets covering about 2.5 million respondents in more than 2,300 districts. He then compared districts within the same country that received infrastructure at different times. Using this approach, he found that in autocracies and backsliding regimes, about 40 additional completed projects in a district raised confidence in government by roughly one percentage point, about a quarter of the gap in confidence between Singapore and the neighboring Malaysian state of Johor. Democracies showed no significant effect. Infrastructure also raised leadership approval and lowered perceptions of corruption, and newly built transport projects with government funding drove most of the effect.

Ultimately, Dann’s research offers a new account of authoritarian resilience, one that explains how autocracies govern more educated, urban, and wealthier societies through broad-based, performative distribution. He closed by questioning whether the more well-to-do a nation is in the 21st century, the greater its chances of sustaining autocracy.

The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is pleased to invite applications from pre-doctoral students at the write-up stage and from post-doctoral scholars working in any of the four program areas of democracy, development, evaluating the efficacy of democracy promotion, and rule of law. The application cycle for the 2027-2028 academic year will be open from Monday, September 21, 2026, through Monday, November 30, 2026.

Our goal is to provide an intellectually dynamic environment that fosters lively exchange among Center members and helps everyone to do excellent scholarship. Fellows will spend the academic year at Stanford University focusing on research and data analysis as they work to finalize and publish their dissertation research while connecting with resident faculty and research staff at CDDRL.

Pre-doctoral fellows must be enrolled currently in a doctoral program or equivalent through the time of intended residency at Stanford and must be at the dissertation write-up (post-coursework) phase of their doctoral program. Post-doctoral fellows must have earned their Ph.D. within 3 years of the start of the fellowship, or plan to have successfully defended their Ph.D. dissertations by July 31, 2027.

In addition to our regular call for applications, CDDRL invites applications for the following fellowships:

Gerhard Casper Fellow in Rule of Law: We welcome research on any aspect of rule of law, including judicial politics, criminal justice, and the politicization of judicial institutions. We are an interdisciplinary center; candidates from any relevant field (i.e., the social sciences, law) are welcome to apply. This is a 9-month, residential fellowship, and the Gerhard Casper Fellow will be part of CDDRL’s larger cohort of pre- and postdoctoral fellows. Please apply through the CDDRL fellowship application process and indicate that you would like to be considered for the Gerhard Casper Rule of Law Fellowship.

Jan Koum Israel Studies Program Fellow: We welcome research on any aspect of modern Israel, including Israeli politics, constitutionalism, economics, society, diplomacy, and international affairs. We are an interdisciplinary center; candidates from any relevant field (i.e., the social sciences and law) are welcome to apply. This is a 9-month, residential fellowship, and the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program Fellow will be part of CDDRL’s larger cohort of pre- and postdoctoral fellows. Please apply through the regular CDDRL fellowship application process and indicate that you would like to be considered for the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program Fellowship.

El Democracy Action Lab (DAL), una iniciativa del Centro sobre Democracia, Desarrollo y Estado de Derecho de la Universidad de Stanford para defensores de la democracia, se enorgullece en anunciar oficialmente la primera cohorte de The Democracy Garage, el primer programa acelerador de su tipo dedicado a fortalecer a los defensores de la democracia en primera línea en América Latina y el Caribe.

The Democracy Garage nació de una convicción simple pero urgente: la resiliencia democrática no se construye únicamente a través de ideas, sino a través del fortalecimiento de capacidades de la sociedad civil para actuar estratégicamente, usar la evidencia con eficacia, comunicar de manera persuasiva y adaptarse a entornos políticos en rápida evolución. DAL construyó este programa para cerrar una brecha persistente en el apoyo a la democracia, tendiendo un puente entre la investigación de alto nivel y las necesidades operativas en tiempo real de las organizaciones que hacen el trabajo más difícil sobre el terreno.

Durante los próximos meses, DAL trabajará codo a codo con ocho extraordinarias organizaciones en la región, aplicando una metodología estructurada de acelerador para co-desarrollar estrategias adaptadas a los desafíos democráticos específicos de cada país. Este no es un programa de crecimiento tradicional: es una asociación profunda y colaborativa basada en la evidencia, la estrategia y la solidaridad.

Un Modelo Acelerador de Tres Ejes

El modelo acelerador de The Democracy Garage se organiza en torno a tres ejes que se refuerzan mutuamente, diseñados para abordar una brecha clave en el ecosistema de apoyo democrático: muchos programas ofrecen formación de alto nivel desconectada de las necesidades inmediatas, o asistencia técnica a corto plazo que no genera capacidad duradera. The Garage tiende ese puente.

Eje 1  |  Análisis de Evidencia para la Estrategia Democrática  —  Asesoría Práctica

El primer eje proporciona apoyo de asesoría directa, orientada a los problemas. Cada organización  entra al Garage con un desafío concreto y actual. DAL moviliza su capacidad analítica — incluyendo la experiencia de su cuerpo docente, la participación de estudiantes y herramientas de datos — para abordarlo de forma colaborativa. No se trata de asistencia técnica unidireccional: es un proceso conjunto que desarrolla la propia capacidad de las organizaciones para usar la evidencia como herramienta estratégica, transitando de modos reactivos a anticipatorios.

Eje 2  |  Formación y Fortalecimiento de Capacidades  —  Cuatro Áreas Fundamentales

El segundo eje ofrece formación estructurada en cuatro áreas críticas para la acción democrática: (1) Estrategia para la defensa democrática — comprender el estado de la democracia en la región y sus principales desafíos; (2) IA para el activismo — aplicaciones prácticas de la inteligencia artificial para monitoreo, comunicación y toma de decisiones; (3) Evidencia para la defensa democrática — recolección, análisis e interpretación de datos vinculados directamente a las decisiones estratégicas; y (4) Narrativa para el cambio — traducir el análisis complejo en narrativas persuasivas que resuenen con tomadores de decisiones, medios de comunicación y ciudadanos.

Eje 3  |  Construcción de Plataformas para la Defensa Democrática  —  Escalar el Impacto Sistémico

El tercer eje apoya a las organizaciones  para que se conviertan en nodos fundacionales de plataformas nacionales de defensa democrática. El deterioro democrático rara vez se produce de forma aislada: requiere respuestas coordinadas entre la sociedad civil, los medios, la academia y las instituciones. A través del mapeo de actores, la articulación de redes y el desarrollo de mecanismos de coordinación, el Garage contribuye a construir ecosistemas estructurados capaces de acción colectiva. Este eje culmina en el Encuentro Regional de Sinergias en agosto de 2026, donde las organizaciones presentarán su visión de plataforma y sentarán las bases para la coordinación regional.

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^{Metodología de aceleración de DAL (haga clic para ampliar)}

Ocho Organizaciones. Tres Países. Una Región.

Tras un riguroso proceso de selección, The Democracy Garage se enorgullece en dar la bienvenida a las siguientes organizaciones participantes:

CESJUL — Centro de Estudios Socio Jurídicos Latinoamericanos (Colombia)  

Trabaja en la intersección del derecho penal, los derechos humanos y la gobernanza democrática, aportando análisis jurídico riguroso a los desafíos más urgentes de la democracia colombiana — incluyendo el uso del derecho tanto como herramienta de represión como vehículo de rendición de cuentas.

Dejusticia (Colombia)

Una de las organizaciones de derechos humanos más respetadas de América Latina — un auténtico think-and-do tank que combina investigación jurídica rigurosa con litigio estratégico, incidencia directa y formación de capacidades en antidiscriminación, justicia transicional y protección del espacio cívico.

Instituto Sou da Paz (Brazil)

Referente en política de seguridad pública en Brasil durante 25 años, influyendo en la legislación nacional sobre regulación de armas y reducción de homicidios mediante un enfoque basado en evidencia que centra a las comunidades más afectadas por la violencia, en particular la población negra brasileña.

Pacto pela Democracia (Brazil)

La principal coalición pro-democracia de Brasil, integrada por más de 200 organizaciones y reconocida internacionalmente como modelo de defensa democrática colectiva. Su protección coordinada de las elecciones de 2022 — más de 80 acciones entre 35 organizaciones — demostró el poder de construir coaliciones antes de que llegue la crisis.

Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP) (Perú)

Una de las instituciones de ciencias sociales más antiguas y distinguidas de América Latina, el IEP ha construido durante seis décadas la base empírica del análisis democrático en el Perú — desde encuestas de opinión pública y estudios electorales hasta investigación interdisciplinaria sobre poder, desigualdad y el Estado.

Recambio (Perú)

En un país que ha tenido ocho presidentes en una década, Recambio reconstruye la cultura democrática desde dentro del sistema político — con una red de más de 500 egresados de 28 partidos políticos, diálogo interpartidario y la iniciativa 'Voces Contra la Polarización'.

Espacio Crítico (Regional, LAC)

Una organización regional que brinda apoyo estratégico personalizado, formación técnica y asesoría en seguridad a organizaciones de la sociedad civil, periodistas independientes y líderes políticos en la primera línea del retroceso democrático en América Latina y el Caribe.

D-Hub (Regional, Global)

Una comunidad global de defensores de la democracia que conecta a activistas de primera línea y organizaciones de la sociedad civil con expertos que han enfrentado desafíos similares — construyendo la infraestructura para la solidaridad democrática transfronteriza que ninguna organización puede sostener sola.

Un Hito Histórico

The Democracy Garage es el primer programa acelerador de este tipo diseñado específicamente para defensores de la democracia en América Latina y el Caribe. Al combinar el rigor de la investigación basada en evidencia, la agilidad de un modelo acelerador y la profundidad de una alianza a largo plazo, DAL está abriendo un camino inédito para fortalecer la resiliencia democrática — basado en la convicción de que las organizaciones más cercanas a la crisis están mejor posicionadas para afrontarla, cuando se les proporcionan las herramientas, el conocimiento y las conexiones adecuadas.

“Nos enorgullece inmensamente lanzar The Democracy Garage junto a estas ocho organizaciones extraordinarias," afirmó Beatriz Magaloni, codirectora del DAL y Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations en el Departamento de Ciencia Política. "Cada una de ellas representa lo que es la defensa de la democracia en la práctica, no en la teoría. Juntos, estamos comprometidos con algo sin precedentes: construir una comunidad de estrategia y solidaridad que fortalezca la democracia, país por país.”
 

The Democracy Action Lab (DAL), a practitioner-centered initiative of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University, is proud to officially announce the first cohort of its Democracy Garage, the first accelerator program of its kind dedicated to strengthening frontline democracy defenders across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Democracy Garage was born from a simple but urgent conviction: democratic resilience is built not only through ideas, but through the capacity of organizations to act strategically, use evidence effectively, communicate persuasively, and adapt to rapidly evolving political environments. DAL built this program to close a persistent gap in democracy support, bridging high-level research with the real-time, operational needs of the organizations doing the hardest work on the ground.

Over the next few months, DAL will work side by side with eight extraordinary organizations across the region, applying a structured accelerator methodology to co-develop strategies tailored to the specific democratic challenges in each country. This is not a traditional growth program: it is a deep collaboration grounded in evidence, strategy, and solidarity.

A Three-Track Accelerator Model

The accelerator model of the Democracy Garage is organized around three mutually reinforcing tracks designed to address a key gap in the democracy support ecosystem: many programs either provide high-level training disconnected from immediate needs or short-term technical assistance that does not build lasting capacity. The Garage bridges this divide.

Track 1  |  Evidence Analysis for Democratic Strategizing  —  Hands-On Advisory

The first track provides direct, problem-driven advisory support. Each of the selected organizations enters the Garage with a defined, real-time challenge. DAL mobilizes its analytical capacity, including faculty expertise, student engagement, and data tools, to help address it collaboratively. This is not one-directional technical assistance: it is a joint process that builds organizations' own capacity to use evidence as a strategic tool, shifting from reactive to anticipatory modes of operation.

Track 2  |  Training and Capacity Building  —  Four Core Areas

The second track offers structured training in four areas critical to democratic action: (1) Strategizing for democratic defense — understanding the state of democracy in the region and its main challenges; (2) AI for activism — practical applications of artificial intelligence for monitoring, communication, and decision-making; (3) Evidence for democratic defense — data collection, analysis, and interpretation linked directly to strategic decisions; and (4) Storytelling for change — translating complex analysis into compelling narratives that resonate with policymakers, media, and citizens alike.

Track 3  |  Platform Building for Democratic Defense  —  Scaling for Systemic Impact

The third track supports participating organizations in becoming foundational nodes of country-level democratic defense platforms. Democratic erosion rarely unfolds in isolation: it requires coordinated responses across civil society, media, academia, and institutions. Through actor mapping, network articulation, and the development of coordination mechanisms, the Garage helps build structured ecosystems capable of collective action. This track culminates at the Regional Synergy Meeting in August 2026, where organizations will present their platform visions and lay the groundwork for regional coordination.

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^{DAL's Accelerator Methodology (click to enlarge)}

Eight Organizations. Three Countries. One Region.

After a rigorous selection process, The Democracy Garage is proud to welcome the following participating organizations:

CESJUL — Centro de Estudios Socio Jurídicos Latinoamericanos (Colombia)  

Works at the intersection of criminal law, human rights, and democratic governance, bringing rigorous legal analysis to the most pressing challenges in Colombian democracy — including the use of law as both a tool of repression and a vehicle for accountability.

Dejusticia (Colombia)

One of Latin America's most respected human rights organizations — a true think-and-do tank combining rigorous legal research with strategic litigation, direct advocacy, and capacity-building across anti-discrimination, transitional justice, and the protection of civic space.

Instituto Sou da Paz (Brazil)

A 25-year leader in public security policy in Brazil, shaping national legislation on firearms regulation and homicide reduction through an evidence-first approach that centers the communities most affected by violence — particularly Black Brazilians.

Pacto pela Democracia (Brazil)

Brazil's preeminent pro-democracy coalition of more than 200 organizations, and an internationally recognized model for coalition-based democratic defense. Its coordinated protection of the 2022 elections — over 80 actions across 35 organizations — demonstrated the power of building coalitions before the crisis arrives.

Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP) (Perú)

One of Latin America's oldest and most distinguished social science institutions, IEP has spent six decades producing the empirical foundation for democratic analysis in Perú — from public opinion surveys and electoral studies to interdisciplinary research on power, inequality, and the state

Recambio (Perú)

In a country that has seen eight presidents in a decade, Recambio is rebuilding democratic culture from within the political system — with a network of over 500 alumni from 28 political parties, cross-partisan dialogue, and the 'Voices Against Polarization' initiative.

Espacio Crítico (Regional, LAC)

A regional organization providing tailored strategic support, technical training, and security advice to civil society organizations, independent journalists, and political leaders on the front lines of democratic backsliding across Latin America and the Caribbean.

D-Hub (Regional, Global)

A global community of democracy defenders connecting frontline activists and civil society organizations with experts who have faced similar challenges — building the infrastructure for cross-border democratic solidarity that no single organization can sustain alone.

A Historic First

The Democracy Garage is the first accelerator program of this type designed specifically for democracy defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean. By combining the rigor of evidence-based research, the agility of an accelerator model, and the depth of long-term collaboration, DAL is pioneering a new approach to democratic resilience — one grounded in the conviction that the organizations closest to the crisis are best positioned to address it, when equipped with the right tools, knowledge, and connections.

"We are immensely proud to launch the Democracy Garage alongside these eight remarkable organizations," said DAL co-director Beatriz Magaloni, the Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations. "Each of them represents what democratic defense looks like in practice, not in theory. Together, we are committed to something unprecedented: building a community of strategy and solidarity that makes democracy stronger, one country at a time."
 

This summer, the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) welcomed 26 democracy leaders from 19 countries across the developing world to its Fisher Family Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program for an intensive three-week training focused on democracy, good governance, and rule of law reform. Chosen from a highly competitive applicant pool, the fellows represent a diverse range of professional backgrounds and geographical regions, spanning civil society, public service, social enterprise, media, and technology. Launched in 2005, the program was previously known as the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program. It was renamed in 2023 in recognition of a gift from the Fisher family — Sakurako (Sako), ‘82, and William (Bill), MBA ‘84 — that endowed the program and secured its future.

Fellows were instructed by a leading Stanford faculty team composed of CDDRL Mosbacher Director and FSI Satre Family Senior Fellow Kathryn Stoner; Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow Francis Fukuyama; Senior Fellow in Global Democracy Larry Diamond; Michael McFaul, FSI Senior Fellow, Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies, and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia; and Erik Jensen, Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, on new institutional models and frameworks to enhance their ability to promote good governance, accountable politics, and find new ways to achieve economic development in their home countries.

The program opened with foundational sessions on the dimensions of development, the meaning of democracy, and the role of rule of law, led by faculty including Fukuyama, Diamond, Stoner, and Jensen. Fellows then explored comparative case studies in autocratic governance — from the Middle East to China's global information ecosystem — alongside a fireside discussion on the geopolitics of energy. The second week turned to questions of migration, gender and political development, and the causes of democratization, including a session with the Human Rights Foundation on global patterns of authoritarianism. Additional sessions covered conflict and leadership, transitional justice, and anti-corruption reform, closing with discussions of sharp power, deliberative democracy, and propaganda in autocratic states. In its third and final week, the program addressed some of today's most consequential global issues, including the future of NATO, the geopolitics of artificial intelligence, and democratic backsliding worldwide. The week also covered inequality in Latin America, political corruption, and the challenges facing American democracy ahead of the midterm elections, concluding with sessions on protecting vulnerable populations in conflict and the relationship between land power and democracy.

This year's cohort now joins a global network of more than 500 alumni from over 100 countries, whose professional backgrounds are as diverse as the challenges they confront in their home countries — reflecting a shared dedication to building sound structures of democracy and development.

During the program, the fellows delivered "TED"-style talks in our Fellow Spotlight Series, sharing personal stories about the struggles in their home countries, stories of their fight for justice, equality, and democracy, and stories of optimism and endurance. You can watch their talks in the playlist below: