Governance / Democracy

Research Interest

Thematic Area: Cross-Cutting Global Challenges

Democratic erosion, climate disruption, and forced migration are not isolated policy problems. They present sweeping challenges to decision-makers across the world. IIS convenes students, scholars and practitioners to examine these challenges from a multidisciplinary, global perspective that resists siloed thinking. IIS's approach to this work stream is connective, focusing on speaker and panel series with experts.

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...

Thematic Area: Foreign Policy

IIS's programming on foreign policy operates at the intersection of scholarship and practice. We convene events and create learning opportunities that bring Berkeley faculty, students, and the public into conversation with diplomats, policymakers, and members of the foreign service.

We examine how institutional structures, executive power, and political constraints shape foreign policy decisions. We have hosted recent events to examine the wars in Iran and Myanmar, the impacts of the collapse of USAID, and the ways in which recent shifts in U.S. foreign policy objectives affect trade...

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...

The Struggle for Freedom & Democracy in Uganda

April 9, 2026

April 13, 2026 |4:00 PM |Chevron Auditorium, International House 2299 Piedmont Ave

An evening with Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi) President, National Unity Platform (NUP), and Barbara Kyagulanyi in conversation with Prof. Martha Wilfahrt (UC Berkeley) and Prof. Shingirai Taodzera (UC Davis).

Register for the Event

https://events.berkeley.edu/asc/event/319350-the-struggle-for-freedom-democracy-…

Surviving Rupture: California’s Subnational Diplomacy in Today’s World with Evan Reade

March 30, 2026
April 17, 2026| 12:30 – 2 PM | 223 Philosophy Hall Join IIS to learn how the State of California is navigating international cooperation and standing as a global leader during a period of global rupture. About Evan Reade:

Evan Reade ('79) is a career diplomat and national security professional with over three decades of service across the U.S. Department of State, the National Security Council, and the U.S. military. His foreign service postings span four continents, including assignments as Deputy Counselor for Political-Military Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, First Secretary at...

Can You Say That Here? Free Speech in a Global Context

April 1, 2026
April 14, 2026 | 3:30 - 5 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall *Followed by reception* REGISTER The Berkeley Institute of International Studies and Berkeley Liberty Initiative invite you to a panel on the governance of free speech in different political, legal, and cultural contexts.

Joined by digital rights veteran Rebecca MacKinnon, First Amendment scholar and political scientist Sean Gailmard, and Mexican journalism...