At the UN General Assembly this month, the Pact for the Future was passed, including two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for Future Generations. The School of International Futures released an Implementation Handbook for the Pact – Working for the Wellbeing of Current and Future Generations; and you can read about how democracy fits into the Pact here. Also, you’ll want to take a look at this Keseb-sponsored essay series, 21st-Century Democracy: Building a Transnational Innovation Ecosystem, authored by leading democracy champions from Brazil, South Africa, and the United States.
While many are warning against the authoritarian threat in the US and giving advice about how to get past the “believability gap” that it can and is happening in the US, others are writing about the less dramatic ways that democratic institutions can be eroded, referred to in this article as “slow burn authoritarianism.” Tim Snyder writes that Freedom is Not What We Think it Is, “freedom is national work. It takes a cooperative nation to create free individuals. That cooperation is called government. And freedom is generational work…We have to always be looking ahead. It is this prospect, this sense of a better future enabled by present decisions, that makes a land of the free.”
Nicole Bibbins Sedaca from Freedom House calls for distinguishing between political disagreements and attacks on the system in the Bulwark: When Everything Is a Threat to Democracy, Nothing Is. At the same time there is a call for more attention by philanthropy to crackdowns on social movements. Check out this special series on Women & Democracy, especially this article on the need to invest in young women of color. With the alarming rise of attacks on women’s rights around the world, our friend Mónica Roa López recently described beautifully how the feminist movement is ‘hope in action’.
The hateful rhetoric and spread of misinformation about the Haitian community in Springfield, OH caused an avalanche of online memes and counter-memes this month, with some warning about the dangerous impact of helping to spread this kind of dangerous speech, even to make fun of it. Over Zero recently launched their Election Violence Prevention Resource Page; and the Polarization Research Lab has a released its dashboard with “resources and data to understand and halt the growth of partisan animosity,” including data on support for political violence, social norms violations and statistics on politicians who engage in personal attacks.
Finally, at Horizons we’re thrilled to announce the launch of the Democracy Resource Hub, an effort we have been supporting with the 22nd Century Initiative, United Vision for Idaho, and the SHIFT Action Lab. The Hub is a collection of tools, strategies, and insights spanning five key areas: Democracy Strengthening, Power-Building & Nonviolent Action, Peacebuilding, Strategic Planning, and Narrative & Storytelling. Recommendations for other organizations and resources to include in the Hub are welcome. If you missed our most recent video with Chief Organizer, Maria Stephan, explaining how to access the Pillars of Support case studies, you can find it here. And check out Chief Network Weaver, Julia Roig’s most recent blog summarizing our insights from Horizons’ Business for Democracy gatherings in September.
Here are other resources we are reading, watching, and listening to this month:
READING
American Democracy is in Peril. And Racism will be the Sledgehammer that Destroys it.
by Katie Crenshaw, The Guardian
“The backlash against the demands for racial justice that erupted in all 50 states has metastasized into the anti-woke juggernaut against anti-racism, critical race theory, 1619 and now DEI. For too long, too many of our allies and stakeholders sat it out, thinking that the stakes were not that high, that we could simply pivot and not use certain words, effectively dodging the backlash by saying “we don’t do that here.”
Now that this assault has come for something that most Americans really do care about – their country – the potential for interest convergence is ripe. Our country cannot be saved without the input of “the other,” without our history, and without the knowledge about this country that we have long brought to the table. We cannot pivot our way out of this crisis. Our only choice is to fight – to fight for our freedom to speak our history, to name our reality, to learn our condition and to vote to change it.”
Choose Your Ministry
by Maurice Mitchell, Best- Case Scenario
Don’t miss these very practical insights and recommendations from seasoned organizer and coalition-builder, Maurice Mitchell: “Many of my friends and colleagues are rightfully worried about conflict as we head into a contentious election season. Conflict between organizers and voters, between residents deciding on which candidate to choose. Even between organizers about the right way to create change…Conflict is a part of life. It happens with friends, family members, coworkers and coalitions. It pushes us to justify our beliefs and question our underlying assumptions about others. Conflict can be generative — as long as it doesn’t lead to the fragmentation of relationships or, as I call it, “rupture.” If a conflict is causing pre-existing relationships to crumble, it’s time to step back and consider what caused the rupture in the first place.”
We Have Decades of Research Telling Us How Change Works. We Need To Start Following the Evidence
by Greg Satell, DigitalTonto
This article is chock full of helpful links and resources with four main points about how change works: (1)Transformational ideas come from outside the community and incur resistance; (2) Transformations follow an “S curve” pattern… meaning that innovations take hold slowly amongst a group of enthusiasts, then hit an inflection point at 10%-20% participation, start accelerating exponentially before reaching a saturation point and begins to level off. (3) There is a common and persistent “KAP-gap,” meaning that shifts in knowledge and attitudes do not correlate highly with changes in practice. So, relying on communication campaigns to drive change is not a dependable strategy. (4) Transformational ideas are propagated socially… we know how ideas spread, it is not the mode of communication of even the individual influence of early adopters but the structure of the network that determines how fast and far an idea travels…”We need to think about change as a strategic conflict between the present state and an alternative vision. The truth is that change isn’t about persuasion, but power. To bring about transformation we need to undermine the sources of power that underlie the present state while strengthening the forces that favor a different future.”
Collaboratively imagining the future can bring people closer together in the present
The Conversation
This article gives an overview of the research conducted by Zoe Fowler Brendan and Bo O’Connor from the Imagination and Cognition Lab at the University at Albany, SUNY.
“People who collaboratively imagined a shared future together felt closer and more connected to their partner than those who independently imagined a shared future and those who collaborated on an unrelated task. This finding begins to illustrate how collaborative imagination may support new social relationships, allowing people to forge deeper connections by co-authoring imagined experiences in possible shared futures.”
WATCHING
Counting the Vote
A Firing Line Special with Margaret Hoover, PBS
“In this one-hour documentary, Margaret Hoover embarks on a journey to explore voting systems across the United States. She examines methods to increase voter confidence and sheds light on states that face challenges in their vote count processes as the 2024 election approaches. “Counting the Vote” looks back at two of the most bitterly contested elections in American history—2000 and 2020—and examines subsequent efforts to make the casting and counting of ballots more efficient and inclusive. In “Counting the Vote,” personal stories and expert voices from across the country–including interviews with those currently overseeing elections like Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson–provide a comprehensive understanding of the most powerful tool in American democracy, the threats that could undermine the will of the people, and what it takes to protect the vote count.”
One-on-one with Heather Cox Richardson
Cap Times Idea Fest 2024
Heather Cox Richardson is a Boston College history professor whose daily digital essays (“Letters from an American”) that place current political events into historical context have gained a massive national following. In this keynote Idea Fest session, she talks with fellow historian David Maraniss about the precedents for what we are seeing now in America’s political landscape and where we might be headed.
Ira Chaleff and Max Klau: To Stop a Tyrant
92NY
“Join Ira Chaleff, author of the new To Stop a Tyrant: The Power of Political Followers to Make or Break a Toxic Leader, in conversation with Dr. Max Klau. While the world focuses on leadership, Chaleff knows there are no leaders without followers. His pioneering work on courageous followership is used in hundreds of leadership programs across the world and includes the practice of intelligent disobedience. While the body politic has polarized into antagonistic camps, Chaleff is Chair Emeritus of the non-partisan Congressional Management Foundation. This program is part of the Newmark Civic Life Series – conversations with leading experts exploring pro-democracy efforts at this critical moment in the US and around the world.”
Bridging the Gap: Where Policy Meets Possibility with PolicyLink
The Ask Video Podcast
In this episode, Jasmine Burton sits down with the senior leadership of PolicyLink, CEO Michael McAfee and newly appointed President Ashleigh Gardere, to “talk about policy change: the fine art of convincing the world to stop doing things the hard way.” You don’t want to miss this month’s Stanford Social Innovation Review special series curated by PolicyLink – A Revolution of the Soul, especially Michael and Ashleigh’s description of their Journey to a Consciousness of All, “to renew ourselves and the nation, we must envision and build a shared future so expansive and uncompromising that it becomes irresistible.”
LISTENING TO
Autocracy in America Podcast Series
The Atlantic
“There are authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States. To root them out, you have to know where to look.” This informative podcast series hosted by Anne Applebaum and Peter Pomerantsev, with support by the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University has four episodes already released: (1) Start With a Lie: Undermine truth, spread falsehoods, and prepare the ground for worse; (2) Capture the Courts; (3) Consolidate Power; (4) Join the Kleptocracy.
Can the Local Church Heal Political Division? With Hahrie Han
Good Faith Podcast
“Host Curtis Chang is joined by Dr. Hahrie Han, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and the Director of the SNF Agora Institute, to explore how evangelical churches relate to racial and political issues. Drawing from her research on a multi-ethnic evangelical church in Cincinnati and insights from Redeeming Babel’s “The After Party” project, Dr. Han reveals how cross-racial relationships within faith communities can help heal racial division and foster deeper belonging. Listeners will discover why facing questions of race and politics head-on, rather than reducing them to political buzzwords, can transform divisive issues into shared experiences that unite communities.” You can also read more about Dr. Han’s new book Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church in this New York Times article.
Bridging The Divide w/ Issie Lapowsky
Says Maybe Podcast, hosted by Alix Dunn
“There are oceans of research papers digging into the various harms of online platforms. Researchers are asking urgent questions such as how hate speech and misinformation has an effect on our information environment, and our democracy. But how does this research find its way to the media, policymakers, advocacy groups, or even tech companies themselves? To help us answer this, Alix is joined this week by Issie Lapowsky, who recently authored Bridging The Divide: Translating Research on Digital Media into Policy and Practice — a report about how research reaches these four groups, and what they do with it. This episode also features John Sands from Knight Foundation, who commissioned this report.”
FOR FUN
In Conversation with John Paul Lederach
Check out this blog article from Humanity United with John Paul Lederach, “internationally recognized for his groundbreaking work in the fields of peace studies and conflict transformation, [who] has launched an online archive of his work across nearly four decades of engagement in peacebuilding throughout the world. This living site features content in multiple languages, with options to read, watch and listen to the extensive archive of content. This living site will continue to grow with new material from the past, present, and into the future, where you can: wander through the archives; search to navigate to a particular piece of work; and, discover the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation.” For those of you who prefer podcasts, you can find a treasure trove of audio interviews with John Paul on his site here.