August has featured renewed energy about the upcoming elections, and we continue to focus on how to prevent election subversion in the US while taking stock of the ways states are strengthening their democratic institutions for the long term. Project 2025 continues to receive needed attention, such as this overview by the Kettering Foundation analyzing it as a Blueprint for Christian Nationalist Regime Change. New studies are helping make sense of Americans’ attitudes during this election year, such as Democracy Fund’s look at How Attitudes about Race and Immigration are Settling and Shifting, and Frameworks’ updated report on how Americans are Thinking about Gender, notably how the use of transphobic language is becoming alarmingly commonplace across party lines as a shorthand to refer to what is wrong with the world today. We appreciated this celebration of the political rise of Indian Americans in the US, and the recognition of the importance of the civil rights movement in realizing those gains.
While many of us are focusing on the elections in the US, we know our pro-democracy organizing will continue long past November. Take a look at this toolkit from the Building Movement Project on The 2024 Elections and Beyond: Fortifying Ourselves, Our Organizations, and Our Ecosystems; and important lessons for funders from Alan Hudson on Ecosystems, Emergence and Social Change. At Horizons, we will continue to engage with the Pillars of Support for Democracy, including case studies of how businesses, faith organizations, unions, professional associations, and veterans/military families are confronting authoritarianism in the US and globally, and recommend this new video from the Leadership Now Project on the business case against authoritarianism.
Looking abroad for inspiration on how citizen participation can help us fight against authoritarianism and political violence, we are also inspired by the acts of community courage in the UK in the face of the recent far right riots. Check out this article in Foreign Affairs about how to prevent the “Spiral of Political Violence in America.” In last month’s newsletter, we announced our new Harnessing Our Power To End Political Violence (HOPE) Guide, and would like to invite those interested to please contact the HOPE PV team about our free training offerings to learn more about how to come together to make political violence backfire.
As summer comes to an end in the US, enjoy these additional resources that Horizons has been reading, watching, and listening to:
READING
Misunderstanding Democratic Backsliding
by Thomas Carothers and Brendan Hartnett, Journal of Democracy
“One of the most common explanations of the ongoing wave of global democratic backsliding is that democracies are failing to deliver adequate socioeconomic goods to their citizens, leading voters to forsake democracy and embrace antidemocratic politicians who undermine democracy once elected.” This paper takes a closer look at twelve cases of recent backsliding and finds that backsliding is less a result of democracies failing to deliver than of democracies failing to constrain the predatory political ambitions and methods of certain elected leaders.”
Creating a Pro-Democracy Conservative Agenda
Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE)
Kristen Cambell from PACE recently interviewed Scott Warren from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and Matthew Germer from the R Street Institute about their project to build a pro-democracy agenda among conservatives. They are bringing together diverse conservative voices, including Trump supporters and critics, to find common ground on democratic principles, also highlighting the critical need for authentic, bold conservative leadership to address current challenges in American democracy.
The Pocket Guide for Facing Down a Civil War: Surprising ideas from everyday people who shifted the cycles of violence
by John Paul Lederach
Don’t miss esteemed peacebuilder, academic, and author, John Paul Lederach’s recent Washington Post Op Ed where he shares ideas from his newly released (and free!) Pocket Guide. The Guide addresses the extreme danger of hyper-polarization, how that has led to civil war in many of the places he has worked, and what he has learned from decades in peacebuilding about what can be done now in the US.
We are future ancestors: on authoritarian politics and the deepening of our radical roots
by E Cram, Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz and V Fixmer-Oraiz
“…this essay charts urgent connections among queer/trans/disability frameworks of environmental, climate, and reproductive justice centered around community planning and county level democratic politics. [The authors] reflect on the lessons learned in their local context of Iowa between 2023–2024, during unprecedented legislative control of queer and trans lives and reproductive politics. They argue anti-trans legislation is a form of authoritarianism and political violence, a frame which shifts how organizers might draw connections among issues and energize future struggles.”
WATCHING
Author Discussion on Resistance Movements
National Book Festival, C-SPAN
During August’s National Book Festival in Washington DC, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author of the new book “Survival Is a Promise” and Tiya Miles, author of “Night Flyer” discussed the lives of abolitionist Harriet Tubman and civil rights icon and poet Audre Lorde. Don’t miss their inspiring conversation and check out these important books.
The Importance of Cultural Values for Meaningful Change
The Common Cause Foundation
The Common Cause Foundation in the UK has recently released this three-minute video “…that demonstrates the need to shift our mainstream cultural values to intrinsic values such as care, equality, creativity and togetherness in order to step up to meet the multiple social and environmental crises we are navigating.” You can also check out their other resources, including a helpful values map and a toolkit full of practical tips on incorporating values into our communications, facilitation, and trainings.
Cultures in the Crossfade
The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, USC
This series explores the concept of the crossfader in DJ mixing as a metaphor for blending differences without erasing them. “By toggling between two music input channels without fully fading out either, the crossfader exemplifies how we can combine and sustain diverse perspectives, fostering connection without diminishing individuality. In this pilot episode, they visit New Orleans, a city deeply rooted in Black culture and the legacies of enslavement, now witnessing the growth of Honduran, Mexican, Palestinian, and Vietnamese communities. This cultural shift prompts new reflections on what it means to be a Southern Black city in an increasingly multicultural and global context.” You can also watch other episodes featuring Lincoln, Nebraska, and Houston, Texas.
Practitioner Mobilization for Democracy Launch
National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD)
ICYMI, you can re-watch the inaugural Practitioner Mobilization for Democracy kick-off event, “marking the beginning of a significant movement aimed at harnessing the unique skills of mediation and facilitation practitioners to foster dialogue, resolve conflicts, and build stronger communities through democratic engagement. As the country navigates significant tensions and societal divisions, this project affirms that the necessary resources are already present… The objective is to mobilize practitioners in dialogue facilitation, community mediation, collaborative communication, and conflict transformation to support the future of democracy.” You can sign up here to find out more and get involved.
LISTENING TO
We The Founders: Building a Shared Democracy
I am Interchange Podcast with Tate Chamberlin
“As we approach 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, we find ourselves at a critical inflection point for democracy. The promise of equity demands that every policy and investment provide a significant, sustained support to those most in need. This support must act as a bridge in creating an equitable economy, fostering an inclusive and compassionate society, and strengthening an accountable democracy…To that end we need a revolution of the soul. In this podcast, Tate hosts Duke University public policy professor Nancy MacLean, PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee, and RepresentUS CEO Josh Lynn in a discussion of the messy truths about democracy and getting things done.”
Let’s Say a Little Bit More About: Joy in Change Making
Say More with Tulaine Montgomery Podcast
Let’s Say a Little Bit More is a three-part mini-series where Tulaine dives deeper into recurring themes discussed with previous Say More guests. In this first episode, she explores how we can undertake the challenging work as changemakers while also savoring the beauty of relationships, laughter, and joy. Previous podcasts mentioned in this episode include: The Art of Organizing with Marshal Ganz; Nurturing Our Minds, Shaping Our Reality with Krista Tippet; What it Takes to Keep a Democracy Going with Debra Cleaver; Embracing our Multitudes with Jimmie Briggs; and What’s Up With Higher Education in America with Steven Colón.
Stacey Abrams: DEI is in America’s DNA
The Context Podcast
“American history is a story about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Stacey Abrams discusses why Americans should embrace and defend DEI as democratic values. She explains how DEI benefits all Americans, expanding participation in our democracy and access to the American dream.”
FOR FUN
Depending on when you’re reading this, there will be a limited number of days left in the countdown to the elections in the US. When many people might be asking “what can I do?” – check out this list of resources that gives everyone an action a day. It’s a fun – and evolving – project to break down the steps to work for democracy and increase civic engagement in 100 easy and scalable actions.