Join the National Constitution Center, in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, for a discussion on how to “restore the guardrails” of democracy—or ways to strengthen American constitutional democracy, structurally and normatively, against future threats and insurrections. Leading commentators Anne Applebaum, SNF Agora Senior Fellow, Pulitzer-prize winning historian, and staff writer for The Atlantic; Daniel Ziblatt, political scientist and a professor at Harvard University and co-author of How Democracies Die; Pulitzer-prize winning journalist George Will; and political scientist William Allen, join moderator Jeffrey Rosen for a wide-ranging conversation.
This program is presented in partnership with the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
Participants
Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. She is also an SNF Agora senior fellow and associate professor of the practice at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. A Washington Post columnist for 15 years and a former member of the editorial board, she has also worked at Spectator magazine, Evening Standard, Slate, and among others. She is the author of several books, including Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism.
Daniel Ziblatt is Eaton Professor of Government at Harvard University and is director of the Transformations of Democracy group at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. He specializes in the study of Europe and the history of democracy. His is the author of three books, including How Democracies Die (co-authored with Steve Levitsky), a New York Times best-seller and Der Spiegel best-seller, which has been translated into twenty-two languages.
George F. Will writes a twice-weekly column on politics and domestic and foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He began his column with The Post in 1974, and he received the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1977. He is also a regular contributor to MSNBC and NBC News. His books include: The Conservative Sensibility; One Man’s America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation; Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy; among others.
William Allen is Emeritus Professor of Political Philosophy in the Department of Political Science and Emeritus Dean, James Madison College, at Michigan State University. He also currently serves as Chief Operating Officer at the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, in Washington, D.C. He previously served on United States National Council for the Humanities and as Chairman and Member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. He is the author or editor of several books, including George Washington: America's First Progressive.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- Edmund Burke, Speech to the Electors at Bristol (1774)
- Federalist No. 51
- Federalist No. 55
- George Washington, Farewell Address (1796)
- Gilbert and Sullivan Archive, Iolanthe; or the Peer and Peri (1882)
- Columbia University, "Rexford Guy Tugwell"
- United States v. Carolene Products Company (1938)
- Anne Applebaum, The Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
- Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, "Coexistence is the Only Option"
- Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, "What Trump and His Mob Taught the World About America"
- Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Dies
- Daniel Ziblatt, Conservative Parties and the Birth of Democracy
- Noam Gidron and Daniel Ziblatt, Annual Review of Political Science, "Center-Right Political Parties in Advanced Democracies"
- Juan Linz, Totatlitarian and Authoritarian Regimes
- George Will, The Washington Post, "Trump and many of his ‘woke’ critics are more alike than they realize"
- George Will, The Washington Post, "Biden charged the people of this republic with fixing it. So the people need to grow up."
- Ed. William Allen, George Washington: A Collection
- William Allen, George Washington: America's Fist Progressive
- William Allen, Imprimis, "The Civil Rights Revolution"
- William Allen, The Colorado Magazine, "2020: Year of Destiny"
- Sabrina Tavernise, The New York Times, "‘Trump Just Used Us and Our Fear’: One Woman’s Journey Out of QAnon"
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