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The 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum will focus on the theme, "The Future of Democracy."

Our goal is to invite reflection and dialogue across different disciplines on the rising threats to global democracy and strategies for reinvigorating democracy in our nation and across the world. 

For decades, American democracy was considered invulnerable and, following the Cold War, democracy seemed certain to become the world’s dominant governmental form.

However, in recent years, democratic norms and institutions have come under attack in the United States and around the world. Ideological extremism has exacerbated polarization, partisan animosity, and social distrust. Large swaths of the voting public have started to doubt the integrity of electoral processes. Authoritarian countries and alternative government systems are on the rise.  And in August 2022, then United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet reported that the global state of democracy is fragile.

These challenges have caught scholars and citizens off guard, and a robust discussion is needed to address strategies for reinvigorating democracy to meet the most pressing challenges of our time. Relying on Notre Dame's expertise in the study of democracy, commitment to civil discourse,   and convening power, the 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum will be devoted to exploring the future of democracy. 

Join us for a Forum event

Advisory Committee

  • Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., President, Chair 
  • Ann Firth, Vice President and Chief of Staff, Office of the President 
  • David Campbell, Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy
  • Abby Córdova, Associate Professor of Global Affairs
  • Matthew Hall, Director, Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy; David A. Potenziani Memorial College Professor of Constitutional Studies; Professor of Political Science; Concurrent Professor of Law 
  • Laura Parker McAleer, Associate Vice President, Federal and Washington Relations
  • Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, Director, Kellogg Institute for International Studies; Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs
  • Christina Wolbrecht, C. Robert and Margaret Hanley Family Director, Notre Dame Washington Program; Professor of Political Science

Since its establishment in 2005 by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., each year the Notre Dame Forum invites campus-wide dialogue about issues of importance to the University, the nation, and the larger world. 

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