Authoritarianism

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,...

Oct. 1 Book Talk | Are We Living in a 1938 Moment?

September 16, 2026
Public Talk by Moritz Pollath, Assistant Professor of Public History, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich

The warning signs of the 1930s feel alarmingly familiar today: nationalist rhetoric, revisionism, military rearmament, political polarization. The liberal order is eroding, autocracies are rearming, and the West appears weaker than at any point in decades. In this book talk, historian and security expert Dr. Moritz Pöllath argues that these patterns function as an early warning system for the present: a new authoritarian axis — Russia, China, North...

Oct. 15 Book Talk | Defiance: Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria

September 16, 2026
Book talk by journalist and author Loubna Mrie

IIS and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies welcome Loubna Mrie to discuss her life story and book Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion and Survival in Syria, a finalist for this year's Kirkus Prize, in conversation with UCB Professor Daniel Zoughbie.

Book Synopsis

From publisher Penguin Random House:

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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...

Oct. 6 Book Talk | How to Survive Authoritarianism: A Russian’s Phrasebook for Everyday Life in America

September 14, 2026
Book talk by Maria Kuznetsova and Dan Storyev Authors How to Survive Authoritarianismoffers Americans the tools needed to face the threat of authoritarianism today—from a country that’s been surviving it for a century. Across the globe, far-right extremists are gaining power as checks and balances between branches of government dissolve at alarming rates. Author and activist Maria Kuznetsova and researcher Dan Storyev - who...

Authoritarianism in Focus Speaker Series: Fall 2026

Fall 2026 Speaker Series: Authoritarianism in Focus Authoritarianism is on the rise. What can our Cal community learn from others who have faced this challenge in other contexts? Speakers visiting IIS for this series include: Prof. Stephen Zunes, University of San Francisco: “Understanding US Support For Military Occupations” - September 23 Maria Kuznetsova and Dan Storyev, authors: “How to Survive Authoritarianism: A Russian’s Phrasebook for Everyday Life in America” - September 29 Prof. Moritz Pollath, Ludwig Maximilian University: “Are We Living in a 1938 Moment? How Autocracies Threaten...

Oct. 7 Book Talk | Enemies in Agreement: Political Volatility and the Design of Arms Control

September 10, 2026
Book talk by Jane Vaynman Assistant Professor of Strategic Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Johns Hopkins University

Co-sponsors: Berkeley Institute of Security and Governance, Berkeley Risk and Security Lab

Why do adversaries sometimes cooperate to restrain their military competition? Why do they design arms control agreements with intrusive verification in some cases but rely on minimal transparency in others? Amidst ongoing international competition, arms control remains rare despite potential mutual...

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…