Activities of the Consortium
Nicolas Guilhot presents "The Democracy Makers: Human Rights and the Politics of Global Order"
IDC PanelThursday October 2, 2:30-5:00
Woodburn Hall 218
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The Indiana Democracy Consortium is happy to host Nicolas Guilhot, a Research Fellow at the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in New York, and author of a powerful and provocative book, "The Democracy Makers: Human Rights and the Politics of Global Order" (Columbia University Press, 2005). Please join us on October 2 from 2:30 to 5:00 at Woodburn Hall 218 for a series of panel discussions on how the export of democratic ideas has been appropriated by political and ideological leaders and what this change means for human rights.
"The Citizens' Assembly": A Lecture by John Ferejohn
IDC PanelWednesday April 30, noon
Woodburn Hall 218
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What does an ideal democratic society look like? This question, in one form or another, provides the normative underpinnings for a broad array of social science research. In this presentation, Professor John Ferejohn of Stanford University examines the institutional implications of democratic reforms intended to engender more direct citizen control over collective decisions. Building on Athenian traditions of democratic participation and extending it to contemporary models of citizen assemblies, Professor Ferejohn explores the implications for both the proposal of new initiatives and the deliberative processes that make decisions about them. Please join the Indiana Democracy Consortium and the Department of Political Science on April 30 at noon in WH218.
Newsletter for April 22, 2008
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Film Screening of "A Minority Report"
IDC PanelWednesday April 17, 3:00-4:30
Woodburn Hall 218
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Join the IDC on Thursday April 17 at 3:00 in Woodburn Hall 218 as we screen "A Minority Report." The film documents how the Serb minority in Kosovo experienced the June 1999 NATO bombing campaign in Kosovo. IU is fortunate to have Milica Matijevic, a lawyer and human rights activist, to help introduce the film. Ms. Matijevic is currently working with IU's REEI program and served as a consultant for the film. Tim Waters of the Law School will serve as a discussion moderator following the film screening. Please join the IDC on Thursday for a discussion of "A Minority Report."
Newsletter for April 9, 2008
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Newsletter for March 19, 2008
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Film Screening of "¿Puedo Hablar? May I Speak?"
IDC PanelWednesday March 19, 4:00-6:30
Ballentine Hall 109
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"¿Puedo Hablar? May I Speak?" is a new documentary film by Sol Productions which chronicles the 2006 presidential elections in Venezuela. Sol Productions spent nearly three months in Venezuela, filming interviews and events with people from across the political spectrum. The documentary offers its audience a portrait of a Venezuelan society at a crossroads; a re-elected President Chavez, challenged by a mounting opposition; a divided state, but one from which the Sol team manages to extract glimmers of hope for renewed dialogue and a bridging of the political gap. Join the IDC for a screening of the film with its producer/director, Christopher Moore, followed by a panel discussion of democracy in Venezuela with IDC members Shane Greene, Jeff Gould, Christiana Ochoa, and IDC Director Jeff Isaac (moderator). This event is sponsored by The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Communication and Culture Dept., the IU Law School, and the IDC.
Newsletter for March 5, 2008
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Lt. Col. Doug Ollivant
IDC PanelTuesday, Feb. 19, 1:30-3:30
Woodburn Hall 218
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Lt. Col. Doug Ollivant, U.S. Army, has served multiple tours in Iraq as a close advisor to Gen. David Patraeus. A political scientist by training, Dr. Ollivant received his Ph.D. from IU in 2001. Prior to his service in Iraq, he taught political philosophy at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. Both as a soldier and a scholar, Lt. Col. Ollivant is uniquely placed to discuss issues of state and nation-building in Iraq, as well as to provide a discussion about issues related to democracy-assistance and its limits. Please join the IDC on Feb. 19 in Woodburn Hall 218 for an interesting discussion with Lt. Col. Ollivant.
Newsletter for Feb. 11, 2008
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Newsletter for Jan. 28, 2008
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Newsletter for Jan. 14, 2008
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Newsletter for Dec. 11, 2007
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Kosovo: Endgame or Renewed Crisis
IDC PanelFriday, December 7, noon-1:30
Law School Faculty Conference Room
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Just a few months ago, the end game for Kosovo's independence looked set. Now everything is in flux. Negotiations have deadlocked, and the winning party in November's parliamentary elections has vowed to declare independence from Serbia after December 10. Ethnic Serbs boycotted the elections, and Belgrade adamantly opposes independence. Is this a case of procedural democracy as ethnic census, devoid of the civic virtues we normatively associate with elections? What are the implications for the territorial integrity of sovereign states characterized by cultural diversity and conflict? What should Western states be trying to achieve in the Balkans? Join the Indiana Democracy Consortium on Friday December 7 at noon in the Law School Conference Room for a discussion on these topics and what they mean for our understandings of democracy, identity, and sovereignty. Panelists will include Professor Tim Waters and REEI visiting scholar Vinka Drezga.
Newsletter for Nov. 26, 2007
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Newsletters will come out every two weeks and will serve as a means of connecting IU's many scholars and students with a shared interest in democracy.
Proposing an Odious Finance Doctrine as a Deterrent to Despotic Finance
Christiana OchoaIndiana University School of Law—Bloomington
Colloquium Series
Thursday, December 6, 3-5 p.m.
Law School Faculty Conference Room
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Professor Ochoa examines the odious debt doctrine and proposes that an "odious finance" doctrine is the better approach. The Harvard Journal of International Law selected Ochoa's related article, "From Odious Debt to Odious Finance: Avoiding the Externalities of a Functional Odious Debt Doctrine" for a forthcoming issue in early 2008.
Social Context and the Process of National Reconciliation
ConferenceFriday, October 26, 2007, 4-6 p.m.
Indiana Memorial Union Oak Room
Read the invitation and the complete conference report.
Truth and Reconciliation efforts in post-conflict states are increasingly viewed as an important means of addressing past atrocities in the hopes of enabling future political cooperation. Crossing disciplinary and regional boundaries, the Indiana Democracy Consortium presents a panel of sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists addressing the contemporary legacies of national reconciliation efforts in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Southern Africa. Can such efforts successfully redress historic violations? Can they enable non-exclusionary nation-building? Do they offer justice for victims or a 'free pass' for egregious violators of human rights and dignity? Panelists will include Caroline Yezer from the College of the Holy Cross, Cynthia Horne from Western Washington University and Jonathan VanAntwerpen from the Social Science Research Council. Shane Greene of Anthropology will moderate.
Boxing Pandora: Defining Frontiers in a Democratizing World
Timothy W. WatersIndiana University School of Law—Bloomington
Colloquium Series
Thursday, October 4, 3-5 p.m.
Law School Faculty Conference Room
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If democratization is to spread, it must do so within existing state borders, because theories of democracy usually take borders as given, or sees their fixity as a bulwark against illiberal nationalism. But what if borders are the problem? What if international frontiers distort democratic choices and raise the stakes in communal disputes?
At the inaugural session of IDC's colloquium series, Prof. Timothy Waters introduces a critical discussion of one of the foundations of the postwar order — the assumption that territorial integrity increases stability, prevents violence, and promotes justice — and the surprising challenge democratization poses to that order. Employing a neo-Wilsonian approach to self-determination, Waters theorizes a right of secession premised on radically self-identifying democratic communities negotiating claims to statehood in an internationally sanctioned process. He also considers how we could measure the effects of the new rule — or the current one. Illiberal chaos or emancipatory project? In an increasingly democratic world, how many states should there be — and who decides?
Electoral Competition and Democratic Consolidation
Regina SmythIndiana University Department of Political Science
Colloquium Series
Thursday, November 1, 3-5 p.m.
Law School Faculty Conference Room
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The theory of democratic transitions argues that electoral competition is essential for democratic consolidation. Elections not only provide the basis for popular representation in government but also provide a mechanism in which political actors — voters, leaders and activists — can learn how to work within the new democratic regime structure to pursue common goals. This discussion demonstrates that under some conditions, elections do not lead to accurate learning because they reveal false information about what voters' want from their new government. Parties and candidates who predicate their future organizational and campaign strategies based on this false information are unsuccessful in the next round of elections, leading to volatility and instability in the political system.
Democracy and the Modern World: Prospects and Challenges
June 29-30, 2007Indiana Memorial Union
Sponsored by the Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Law—Bloomington, and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Read a synopsis of the conference or complete reports of its three panels: civil society, constitutionalism, and state-building.
This inaugural event of the Indiana Democracy Consortium focused on the fundamental dynamics that govern the successful development of democratic institutions—from the enterprises of vibrant civil society networks, to the structure of formal electoral rules and constitutional design, and to the importance of professionalism in managing the affairs of the formal government. Scholars and practitioners engaged in discussions about where to focus our resources, talents, and energies in the next decade to best foster cross-disciplinary research, extend undergraduate and graduate education to identify and address crucial problems, and bridge the gap between the academic and policy communities.
