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Defending democracy against its adversaries – The seventh annual Justice Stephen Breyer lecture on International Law

26 March, 2021 @ 11:00 am 1:00 pm

The seventh annual Justice Stephen Breyer Lecture on International Law

Liberal democracy — representation, the rule of law, and human rights — is the foundation of the trans-Atlantic alliance and a rules-based international order. The Biden administration has placed democracy at the heart of its policy agenda; in the words of its March 2021 Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, “Democracy is essential to meeting all the challenges of our changing world.” Yet democracy is under threat worldwide from populists and rising authoritarian powers.

Still, civil societies continue to fight for their rights. In Belarus, a pro-democracy movement led by teacher-turned-presidential-candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is bravely protesting the fraudulent August 2020 election, despite violent repression by the government of Alexander Lukashenko.

On March 26, as part of the seventh annual Justice Stephen Breyer Lecture on International Law, Foreign Policy at Brookings will host Tsikhanouskaya for a keynote address that examines democracy and human rights in Belarus. Afterwards, senior fellow and Fritz Stern chair Constanze Stelzenmüller will join Tsikhanouskaya for a conversation on how the United States and Europe should support democracy in Belarus and the surrounding region. A panel discussion on protecting democracy from both sides of the Atlantic will follow their conversation.

Viewers can submit questions by emailing events@brookings.edu or on Twitter using #Democracy.

For more info on panelists & registration, click below.