Perry World House Hosts First Democracy Conference

After a “super year” of elections in 2024 – more than 1.6 billion people cast ballots in 74 national elections globally – many are spending 2025 assessing the health of democracy around the world.  The early returns are worrisome. In many places autocratic leaders are tightening their grip on power and democratic backsliding seems to be on the rise globally.  At the same time, political and media repression – both at the national and international level – continue to grow as autocrats crack down on civil society and seek to coopt media institutions.   

Against this backdrop Perry World House convened a conference on democracy, media, and repression on February 25-26, 2025. Bringing together leading scholars, journalists, and researchers from five continents – including Perry World House Distinguished Visiting Fellows Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Des Freedman, and Francisco Sagasti, and experts like Peter Pomerantsev, Marites Vitug, and Walter H. Annenberg Dean Sarah Banet-Weiser, among nearly two dozen others –  participants explored the role of media institutions in democracies and analyzed what steps governments, civil society, and journalists can take to build resilience to foreign information manipulation and interference.