The Forum for the Study of Democracy and Autocracy at Georgetown invites you to a free symposium of academics, American political reformers, and democracy promotion practitioners for

Assessing the State of Democracy in America: Is This the Best We Can Be?

Thursday, April 3, 2008
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Continental breakfast at 8:30)
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Root Room
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC

rsvp@democraticpiece.com

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Keynote: Thomas O. Melia, "Assessing American Democracy"

Tom Melia, deputy director of Freedom House, discusses the organization's work assessing civil liberties and democratic rights worldwide, the reaction these efforts sometimes elicit, and some findings from a forthcoming Freedom House report on the state of freedom in America.

Panel 1: "Fixing our Primary Process"

A roundtable discussion with experts on the state of candidate election processes in America, the applicability of the principles of fairness and democracy to candidate selection mechanisms, how the current Presidential campaign has highlighted shortcomings in our process, and what can be done to fix them.

Panelists:
Patrick Basham, Democracy Institute, Cato Institute
Doug Chapin, electionline.org, Pew Charitable Trusts
Ryan O'Donnell, Common Cause MD

Moderator:
Barak Hoffman, Center for Democracy and Civil Society, Georgetown University

Panel 2: "Political Reform in the Next Administration: What's Needed and Why?"

A discussion with experts on what types of political reform the next President should champion, why they are necessary, and the likelihood of seeing real reform in his or her term.

Panelists:
Algernon Austin, Economic Policy Institute
Rob Richie, FairVote
Mark Rom, Georgetown Public Policy Institute

Moderator:
Daniel Brumberg, Democracy & Governance Studies, Georgetown University

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Updated 3/29.