Governance / Democracy

Research Interest

Understanding the 2026 Bangladesh Election: Webinar Screening and Q&A

March 3, 2026

March 10, 2026 | 12:30 - 2 PM | 223 Philosophy Hall

Learn About Bangladesh’s 2024 July Revolution, the newly elected Bangladesh National Party, recent reforms, and the impact that its February 2026 elections will have on the nation’s future. IIS will screen a recent Stimson Center webinar examining the outcomes and implications of Bangladesh’s pivotal parliamentary elections, held at a critical turning point for the country. The discussion will explore how a sweeping victory by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the approval of a constitutional referendum are reshaping...

Rupture: The U.S. and the Fate of World Order Speaker Series - Rupture #1: Democracy & Human Rights

February 17, 2026

February 25, 2026 | 12:30 - 2 pm (lunch talk) | 223 Philosophy Hall

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IIS Spring 2026 Speaker Series: The U.S. and the Fate of World Order

Rupture #1: Democracy and Human Rights

For decades the US’s role in the world has been grounded in democratic values as well as often contradictory economic and security interests that have contributed to both global...

Jessica Olney

IIS Executive Director

Jessica Olney joined the Institute of International Studies the Executive Director in January 2026.

Jess brings extensive international experience as a practitioner and researcher on conflict, peacebuilding, human rights, and humanitarian response. She has led studies for and advised various governments, embassies, international NGOs, UN agencies, universities, institutional and private donors, and the International Criminal Court. She is passionate about working with students, and has trained dozens of refugee youth to lead research, advocacy, and humanitarian...

Susan Hyde

IIS Faculty Co-Director, Professor
Political Science
Center on the Politics of Development

Susan D. Hyde is the Robson Professor of Political Science at University of California, Berkeley, where she was Chair of the Department of Political Science (AY 2021-2024) and is co-director of the Institute of International Studies (2021- ). She studies international...

February 26: Junta on the Defense - Making Sense of Myanmar in 2026

January 28, 2026

February 26, 2026 | 12:30 - 2:00 PM | 223 Philosophy Hall

Nearly 80 percent of Myanmar’s territory is now either contested or controlled by anti-junta resistance groups. Aung Kyaw Moe, Deputy Minister of Human Rights for Myanmar’s pro-democracy government-in-exile, will offer an analysis of Myanmar’s rapidly evolving conflict and political landscape, explaining the advance of resistance forces over the past year.

He will discuss the regime’s recent elections, widely considered a sham to entrench junta rule. What does the electoral process mean...

February 5 with Prof. Denise Dresser: Mexico, Venezuela and the U.S. in the Era of Democratic Backsliding and the “Donroe” Doctrine

January 23, 2026

February 5, 2026 | 4:00 - 5:30 PM | 223 Philosophy Hall

Denise Dresser is an academic, public intellectual, columnist, and activist. Her work focuses on Mexican democratization, corruption, the construction of citizenship, and political economy issues from a comparative perspective.

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February 12: Book talk with Professor Chipo Dendere

January 9, 2026

February 12, 2026 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM | 223 Philosophy Hall

Join the UC Berkeley Institute of International Studies, Center for African Studies, and The Charles & Louise Travers Department of Political Science for a book talk with author Chipo Dendere, Associate Professor of Political Science, Africana Studies Department, Wellesley College.

Death, Diversion, and Departure: Voter Exit and the Persistence of...

The UC Berkeley Global Forum: Contemporary Challenges in the Asia Pacific

May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025 | 8:00AM - 5:00PM | Banatao Auditorium

The conference aims to bring together leading scholars and practitioners together to analyze, debate, propose solutions to several contemporary challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as to provide an opportunity for Berkeley students, faculty, alumni, and Bay Area international affairs professionals to engage with leading scholars, practitioners, and journalists regarding issues of contemporary importance.

Laurel Fletcher

Clinical Professor of Law and Director, International Human Rights Law Clinic
Law

Laurel Fletcher is Clinical Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, where she directs the International Human Rights Law Clinic and co-directs The Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law. She studies human rights, humanitarian law, international criminal justice, and transitional justice.

Andrew Little

Associate Professor
Political Science

Andrew Little is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He studies authoritarian politics, communication and information manipulation, and conflict, exploring the causes and political consequences of "nonstandard" belief formation with the use of formal models.