What lies ahead for democracy: A report from the USA 2024 general election

Title: What lies ahead for democracy: A field report from the United States 2024 general election

Event details

Date: Wednesday 5 June

Time: 5.30pm - 6.30pm. Lecture will be followed by drinks and nibbles.

Location: : Level 4 Lecture Theatre - 201-440, Building 201, 10 Symonds Street, Auckland CBD

Cost: Free

Lecture description: This year will prove a turning point for democracy in the US—and perhaps the world. Political conflict in the US has become more heated than since the Civil War, and the two major parties have starkly contrasting views for the future of the country. At a time when democratic innovation appears robust around the globe, the US faces challenges to more fundamental democratic institutions and practices, such as voting rights, separation of powers, and reasoned deliberation. Forecasting the future for the US proves difficult, given the thin electoral margin between the major parties, but this talk will clarify the stakes of the momentous choice voters will make in November. This will be an election that stress-tests electoral laws and norms, the public's resistance to authoritarian appeals, and the nation's core commitment to constitutional law. Should US voters choose to elect a president who proves to govern as an autocrat, it may end up eroding democratic norms and institutions in nascent democracies while reinforcing democracy in well-established systems.

About the speaker: John Gastil is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Pennsylvania State University, and Senior Scholar at the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. Professor Gastil studies political deliberation and group decision making across a range of contexts. He is an innovative, inspirational scholar who has developed both theory and practice to re-engage American citizens in democratic participatory decision-making. His newest books are Hope for democracy: How citizens can bring reason back into politics (Oxford, 2020) with Katie Knobloch, and Legislature by lot: Transformative designs for deliberative governance (Verso, 2019) with Erik Olin Wright. Gastil also has written several other scholarly books and two novels. Dr. Gastil's current project is leading the Democracy Machine collaborative, a team of researchers and civic reformers aiming to improve platforms for civic and democratic deliberation online. His work on the Citizens’ Initiative Review has found that an electoral reform can improve the deliberative quality of elections on referenda and ballot initiatives.

Transport Options

There are plently of public transport options on Symonds Street.

Parking is available at the Owen G. Glenn Building on 12 Grafton Road, a flat rate of $6 applies from 4.30pm Monday - Friday.