Maria J. Stephan

Co-Lead and Chief Organizer

Dr. Maria J. Stephan is the Co-lead & Chief Organizer at the Horizons Project, an organizing initiative focused on bringing people together across differences to dismantle tyranny and build an inclusive democracy in the United States anchored in human dignity, freedom, and justice. Maria is an award-winning author and organizer whose scholarship, public service, and work in civil society has focused on the role of nonviolent action and social movements in advancing human rights, democracy, and sustainable peace in the US and globally. 

Stephan is the co-author (with Erica Chenoweth) of Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, which was awarded the 2012 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Prize by the American Political Science Association for the best book published in political science, and the 2013 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. Their second book together, The Role of External Support in Nonviolent Campaigns: Poisoned Chalice or Holy Grail? was published by ICNC Press in 2021. Stephan is the co-author of Bolstering Democracy: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward (Atlantic Council, 2018); the co-editor of Is Authoritarianism Staging a Comeback? (Atlantic Council, 2015); and the editor of Civilian Jihad: Nonviolent Struggle, Democratization and Governance in the Middle East (Palgrave, 2009). Her work has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Foreign Affairs, Just Security, Foreign Policy, and Waging Nonviolence, among other outlets. 

Before joining the Horizons team, Stephan founded and directed the Program on Nonviolent Action at the U.S. Institute of Peace, overseeing applied research, a global training program, and work with policymakers to support activists, peacebuilders, and social movements in their struggles to advance more just, peaceful, and democratic societies around the world.   

Earlier, Stephan was lead foreign affairs officer in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, receiving two Meritorious Service Awards for her work in Afghanistan and with Syrian activists in Turkey. She later co-directed the Future of Authoritarianism initiative at the Atlantic Council, which informed activists and practitioners about global democracy trends, and strategies for confronting authoritarianism. Stephan directed policy and educational initiatives at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, supporting dissidents and movements globally. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on civil resistance and human rights at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and American University’s School of International Service. 

Stephan received her BA in political science from Boston College and her MA and PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She received a Harry S. Truman national scholarship for public service and was a Fulbright scholar to Germany. Stephan is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an advisor to the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, and an active member of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). Maria is a proud Vermonter currently residing in New York City.

Author: Maria J. Stephan Nonviolence in Action: Why Civil Resistance Works and the...

Horizons Chief Organizer, Maria J. Stephan delivered this keynote address at the American Academy of Religion Annual Conference on November 24, 2024. Special thanks to Jin Y. Park, Professor and...

Author: Maria J. Stephan Lessons from Around the World: Engaging ‘Pillars of Suppo...

*This article was written by Chief Organizer Maria J. Stephan and was first published on Just Security. Efforts in the United States to build a broad, cross-partisan, and cross-ideological pro-democratic front...

Author: Maria J. Stephan Faith and the Authoritarian Playbook

*This article was written by Chief Organizer Maria J. Stephan and was first published on Sojourners, you can access the full article without a paywall here. How Christians can defend and nurture democracy...

Author: Maria J. Stephan Faith and the Authoritarian Playbook

*This article was written by Chief Organizer Maria J. Stephan and was first published on Sojourners, you can access the full article without a paywall here. How Christians can defend and nurture democracy...

Author: Maria J. Stephan Clowns, Reverse Boycotts, and Involuntary Walkathons: How...

*This article was written by Chief Organizer Maria J. Stephan and was first published on Just Security. The new dystopian Hollywood film, Civil War, has raised the specter of devastating violent conflict...

Author: Maria J. Stephan How you can more effectively advance multi-racial democracy

On March 3, 2024, Maria J. Stephan, co-lead of the Horizons Project, discussed her work to strengthen multi-racial democracy in the US and globally to the Forum at All Souls...