Challenging Autocracy From the Front Lines

Wednesday, Sept. 27 // 10–11:30 am (ET)

In a new Wilson Center report, Venezuelan opposition leader and former political prisoner Leopoldo López details the intensifying cooperation among members of a global “autocratic network,” as authoritarian nations such as China, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela prop up one another and repress pro-democracy movements worldwide. Increasingly, their cooperation includes military support, the sharing of technology for surveillance and censorship, sanctions evasion, and the transnational harassment of dissidents.

Drawing on personal experience and conversations with pro-democracy activists worldwide, López’s report, Challenging Autocracy from the Front Lines, argues that the international response to the “autocratic network” must involve greater cooperation among pro-democracy movements and far more robust international support for individuals fighting to restore democracy.

Join us for a conversation on López’s policy recommendations, with insights from pro-democracy activists from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Still To Come This Week

A Conversation with President of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso

Monday, Sept. 25 // 3–4:00 pm (ET)

Please join the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program and our co-sponsors, the Inter-American Dialogue and the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center for a virtual conversation with President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador to discuss his environmental legacy and other priorities of his administration.

The Rules-Based Order in Antarctica and Global Challenges

Wednesday, Sept. 27–Thursday, Sept. 28 // 9:00 am–4:30 pm (ET)

On September 27 and 28, the Wilson Center, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the US Coast Guard, US Department of State, Battelle, Lindblad Expeditions, and Hurtigruten Expeditions, is hosting the first-ever conference on Antarctic policy in Washington, DC, with the aim of elevating dialogue on Antarctica’s connection to key US national interests.

Nation and Proletariat: Reimagining the Russian Empire in Fedor Reshetnikov’s Ethnographic Fictions

Wednesday, Sept. 27 // 11:30 am–12:30 pm (ET)

In this talk, Title VIII Research Scholar Helen Stuhr-Rommereim will focus on the work of author Fedor Reshetnikov, and how his writing contributed to a radically different view of Imperial Russian life: a pan-Imperial proletariat that crossed ethnic and confessional boundaries. Stuhr-Rommereim will explore how Reshetnikov’s sketches of the Russian Empire’s “common people” demonstrate the limits of class, rather than nation, as a frame for conceiving of a social collective.

Looking Deeper: Investing in Science, Technology, and Resilience

Thursday, Sept. 28 // 3–4:00 pm (ET)

Join our panelists to kick off our Looking Deeper series on impacts and consequences of American investment in semiconductor resilience, as we look at the implementation of these laws and investments, impact so far, and national and foreign responses to the investments.

The Age of Interconnection: A Global History of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

Thursday, Sept. 28 // 4–5:30 pm (ET)

The first scholarly global history of the second half of the twentieth century, this book argues that the era is best understood in terms of the interaction of two large, worldwide developments. One is the increasing and accelerating crossing of the borders of sovereign states, continents and oceans by ideas, cultures and information, people, commodities, and capital, creating world-wide interconnections. The other is the profound influence on the period of the preceding historical era, the age of total war, 1914–45/50.

Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints (Book Launch)

Friday, Sept. 29 // 11:00 am–12:00 pm (ET)

Geopolitical competition and civil war are on the rise. At the same time, disasters like droughts, flooding, and hurricanes are increasing in frequency and intensity, partly due to climate change and persistent poverty. Join the Wilson Center for a conversation with Dr. Tobias Ide and Dr. Marwa Daoudy on Dr. Ide's new book, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints, about the interactions between conflict and disaster.