Distinguished Lecture Series

January 22, 2023

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Bipartisan electoral reform and the 2024 election 

Kim Wyman (Former Washington Secretary of State)

On Monday January 22, the Foley Institute hosted former Washington Secretary of State, Kim Wyman. Wyman began her talk by acknowledging that going into the 2024 election, the United States is living in one of the most politically polarized times in the nation’s history. She addressed the importance of our democracy depending on an honest, secure, and transparent election process. This, however, is at risk due to such polarization.

Wyman continued her talk by discussing the necessity of a seamless voting process. Emphasizing this point, she mentions early voting as a means for more individuals to cast their ballot despite their busy schedules. This will allow for a greater portion of individuals to participate in the 2024 election. She concluded by touching on the bipartisan support for voter ID laws so long as they are accessible to everyone financially and otherwise.

March 16, 2021

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The crisis of democracy in global context  

Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton University)

On March 16, the institute hosted Professor Kim Lane Scheppele of Princeton University for the final event of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Professor Scheppele discussed the global contexts of the January 6 crisis that shook the American democracy. She presented on this point by discussing the end of the Trump presidency within a broader global context.

To structure her discussion, Professor Scheppele noted the recent trend among some constitutional democracies towards instability and authoritarianism. To better understand this trend and the reasons for it, she first analyzed if democracies around the globe have been failing, and if so what the root causes of their failure is. She then talked about the potential role of populism in these declining democracies, such as Hungary or Poland. Then she offered another potential cause for the downturn in democracy—the changing role of political parties within democracies. Professor Scheppele stated that established parties have been weakened in recent years, where voters have no candidates they are enthusiastic about voting for. Furthermore, she notes that the collapse of the party system precedes democratic collapse. To conclude, Professor Scheppele evaluated the options available to alter this trend. She suggests that stronger parties need to reclaim their gatekeeping authority and offer better, vetted choices to voters.

March 4, 2021

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The wayward course of American presidential democracy 

Stephen Skowronek (Yale University)

On March 4, the institute hosted Professor Stephen Skowronek of Yale University for the third event in the Distinguished Lecture Series on the crisis of American democracy. Professor Skowronek’s lecture discussed the impact of increased presidential power on the strength of the American democracy and government. To evaluate this, he focused on the institutional backstory to the issue, juxtaposing unitary executive theory with deep state conspiracy theories. He suggested that the institutional factors that contributed to the rise in these theories exist independently from the persona of the President.

Professor Skowronek situated the Trump presidency within the broader developmental and institutional contexts, noting the difference between the president as a manager or a mobilizer. He stated that the Trump presidency exposed potential problems intrinsic to the American presidency, such as balancing the president’s role as both a mobilizer and a manager, calling the current state of affairs ‘a beleaguered republic’. He continued by assessing differences between Trump and Biden in terms of their styles. He concluded with some suggestions about  what might be done to correct the wayward course of the American presidential democracy, including a deliberate reconstruction of the mechanics of the government itself, which may include a departure from the text of the original constitution.

February 25, 2021

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Is Trump a symptom of a Constitutional Dis-Ease?

Bruce Ackerman (Yale University)

On February 25, Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, discussed the relationship between the US Constitution and the Trump presidency as part of the Foley Institute’s distinguished lecture series. He began the discussion with the second senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. He acknowledged that the House impeachment managers recognized there was a second path to disqualifying former President Trump from office, namely the 14^th Amendment. Ackerman noted that Section 3 of that amendment contains detailed and unambiguous language which says that any official of the United States government who engages in a conspiracy which involves an insurrection or rebellion against the constitutional foundations of the American government can be disqualified for further service. This procedure can be stopped if a two thirds majority of both houses of Congress grant the individual amnesty.

Ackerman further explained that passage of the 14^th Amendment was imperative to the development of the United States Constitution. During the passage of the 14^th Amendment in 1866, Section 3 was the center of deba

February 16, 2021

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America’s constitutional crisis in historical context

Eric Foner (Colombia University)

On February 16, Eric Foner of Columbia University delivered the first of a series of Foley Distinguished Lectures on the crisis in constitutional democracy that is currently facing the U.S. He suggested that our society is still working on the process of ending slavery, and that despite being abolished over a century ago, the Reconstruction Era has yet to end. He noted the parallels that exist between that time period and today, such as the violent attack on the Capitol and recent Supreme Court interpretations of the 14th Amendment.

Foner discussed how the ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were fueled by anti-slavery constitutionalism which separated the concept of citizenship from race. He noted that popular constitutionalism occurred as discussion about what exactly rights and nationality meant in relation to black suffrage. At that time, it was common that people debated concepts of rights and citizenship of African Americans outside of lawmaking such as within churches, public journals, and households.

Foner concluded by discussing how white supremacists overthrew Reconstruction as seen in 1898 in North Carolina and how the next generation dealt with a Jim Crow system that fundamentally undermined the pursuit of a higher quality of life by destroying black education, taking away the right to vote, rigging the labor markets that reserved the best jobs for white people, violent murders, lynching, and racist acts within policing. He pointed out that while Congress attempted to enforce the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the Supreme Court diluted these protections.

March 10, 2020

Middle East meltdown: Causes and consequences

Ryan Crocker, (Former Ambassador for the United States)

On March 10, Ryan Crocker, a former Ambassador for the United States to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Pakistan, spoke about failed states in the Middle East.

He explained that when states fail, political actors move towards the “empty space” to seize power and gain control. One of the problems was, he suggested, that colonizing countries such as France and Britain were not interested in building democratic institutions and laws, but rather to enrich themselves. After the failure of colonialism, a political vacuum gave way to the fall of monarchies in the Middle East. Arab Nationalists rose to power in countries such as Egypt, Iraq, and Libya. Militaristic leaders such as Khadafi ascended to power in Libya, Communism in Yemen, and Arab socialism is Syria and Iraq.

Crocker argued that elections alone do not create a democracy. The creation of democracy requires institutions and laws for the people of a state to self-govern, before figuring out election processes. While states with the most power strive to remake the world to advance their own interests, democracy requires interests of the people as well. Essentials of democracy include security, economic opportunity, social services, and individual liberties.

In 2014, the Islamic State demanded a lot of US attention. A difference between the Islamic State and prior regimes was that they understood the importance of governance. Crocker stated there was evidence that suggested the Islamic state knew how to provide the needs of the people that previous regimes failed to provide such as a desire to have authentic governance.

In the summer of 2014, the Islamic state sent delegations into hospitals to learn how to provide services. The delegation asked the hospital staff about information on medical inventory, nurses, doctors, and medical qualifications. The Islamic state understood the historical legacy and tried to show they were going to govern in a style that helped the people. However, the Islamic states extremism and the United States military pressure led to the Islamic state’s collapse. In the future, ungoverned space provides opportunity for Islamic state to possibly return, if not the Islamic state then another group will rise to govern.

October 8, 2019

Authoritarianism and democracy in America

Steven Levitsky (Bestselling author of How Democracies Die)

On Wednesday October 9, Harvard Professor Dr. Steven Levitsky spoke at the Foley institute about the emergence of far right-wing movements in Latin America and how economic fluctuations and crime have shifted power between the moderate left and right wings over the last three decades.

Levitsky explained that poverty and inequality in Latin America laid the groundwork for political instability before and during the Cold War. After the Cold War, coups in Latin America became less common and democracy was slowly able to emerge in several regions. Between 2000 and 2012 Latin America saw a major rise in its exports allowing many countries to increase their budgets for popular social programs. However, satisfaction with moderate left-wing parties began to dwindle as economies stagnated. In combination with corruption and high crime, this has led many to shift their support to far right wing parties in hopes that they will fix the problem. While this shift hasn’t been as large as many expected, more far right parties could emerge if moderates don’t deliver on their promises.

April 25, 2019

Foley distinguished lecture: Constitutional crises, real and imagined

Keith Whittington (Award winning author and professor of politics at Princeton University)

On Thursday April 25, Keith Whittington, award winning author and professor of politics at Princeton University spoke at the Foley Institute about what scenarios qualifies as a constitutional crisis and how the U.S has dealt with them throughout history.

He first describes what constitutes a crisis of operation, meaning that the constitution no longer applies in our actual politics. The constitution is supposed to direct our political disagreements in a meaningful way that stays within the bounds of constitutional literature. However, during a crisis of operation the constitution may not prescribe a solution to our real world issues, and this may undermine the entire constitution depending on the weight of the problem. A crisis of fidelity applies to situations when we no longer want to follow constitutional pronouncements. This can occur for many reasons. One example he gives is the Garrisonians who thought the entire constitution was immoral due to slavery and could not be reconciled in a constructive way. Our current constitutional crisis lies within our inability to compromise on our political disagreements when the constitution was made to foster constructive compromising. He ends by emphasizing the dangers of political polarization and the need to combat the issue so we can safeguard our constitutional system.