Governance / Democracy

Research Interest

Oct. 9 Political Salon | How to Use AI to Build a Better Democracy

September 21, 2026
Political Salon hosted by Action Labs as a part of #SFTechWeek

What if AI could be more than a threat to democracy—and instead become a powerful tool for strengthening it?

In this interactive two-hour session, we’ll explore practical ways ordinary people can use AI to become more informed, make government more transparent, organize communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and make their voices heard. Through hands-on activities and small-group challenges, participants will experiment with using AI to understand complex...

Foreign Policy

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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...

Cross-Cutting Global Challenges



Nov. 12 Book Talk | Surviving Exile: Why Activists Persist and Why it Matters Back Home

September 16, 2026
Book Talk by Elizabeth Nugent, Assistant Professor of Politics, Princeton University Speaker Bio

Elizabeth R. Nugent studies the politics and political psychology of authoritarianism and religion in the Middle East. She is the author of After Repression: How Polarization Derails Democratic Transition, published by Princeton University Press (2020). Other research has been published in the American Journal of Political Science, Annual Review of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies,...

Sep. 23 Talk | The United States and Global Anti-Authoritarian Movements

September 15, 2026
Public talk by Professor Stephen Zunes, University of San Francisco

What is the most effective means by which the United States can support popular struggles for freedom around the world? Does Washington have the credibility to support such movements in light of its ongoing backing of allied authoritarian regimes and occupation armies? Can the U.S. take credit (or blame) for some of these pro-democracy struggles? What kinds of policies have proven effective and which have ended up strengthening the regime or risking civil war? Professor Stephen Zunes examines the...

Sep. 17 Talk | The Once and Future World Order - Why Global Civilization Will Survive the Decline of the West

September 10, 2026
Public lecture by Professor Amitav Acharya Distinguished Professor of International Relations, American University The Institute of International Studies & the Goldman School of Public Policy are pleased to welcome Prof. Amitav Acharya for a public talk at IIS. Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, the West has been in crisis. Social unrest, political polarization, and...

Susan Hyde

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

Susan D. Hyde is the Kernan Robson Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where she co-directs the Institute of International Studies and was Chair of the Department of Political Science (AY 2021–2024). She studies international influences on the domestic politics of sovereign states, with a focus on elections, election fraud, democratic backsliding, and democracy promotion.

With Nikolay Marinov and many students, she compiles the...

The April 2026 Hungarian Parliamentary Elections

April 21, 2026

April 29, 2026 | 4:00 PM | Geballe Room - 220 Stephens Hall

Sponsor(s): Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Institute of European Studies, Institute of International Studies, Global, International & Area...
https://events.berkeley.edu/iis/event/320297-the-april-2026-hungarian-parliament…

Rupture: The U.S. and the Fate of World Order - Multilateralism

April 17, 2026

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

REGISTER


Rupture #4: Multilateralism

How may global governance and multilateral cooperation evolve in a world without US leadership?

Thursday, April 30, 2026
223 Philosophy Hall
12 - 2:30 PM
*Lunchtime talk*

Panelists:

Philip Yun - IIS Senior Fellow and President, Commonwealth Club of California Steve Vogel - UC Berkeley Professor of Political Economy Amy Hawthorne - Expert...