Defending Democracy: A Comparative Perspective
Nations across the world are struggling to defend their institutions of democratic government. Voters are dissatisfied with how their institutions are working, social media is changing how nations define and regulate political speech, and courts are struggling to understand their rule in policing constraints on the exercise of political power and protecting individual rights.
This event brings together comparative law scholars from across the country to discuss a range of issues involving democracy, democratic backsliding, and comparative constitutional protections of democratic norms and institutions. Discussions may include comparative lessons in "militant democracy," the role of judges in defining or protecting democracy and democratic participation, democratic protections in the American constitutional system and how they differ from other nations, democracy and free speech, and lessons from recent elections around the world.
Sponsored by the Dean Rusk International Law Center and the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law
Friday, February 21, 2025
Larry Walker Room, Dean Rusk Hall
University of Georgia School of Law
Please note the following schedule is tentative and subject to change:
9:00 Welcome Message
Usha Rodrigues, Dean, University Professor & M.E. Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law
9:15 Panel 1: Democracy and Institutional Legitimacy
- Richard Albert, Hines H. Baker and Thelma Kelley Baker Chair in Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
- Zachary Elkins, Professor, University of Texas at Austin
- Panel Moderator: Taher S. Benany, Associate Director, Dean Rusk International Law Center, University of Georgia School of Law
10:30 Break
10:45 Panel 2: Democratic Governance and Constitutional Design
- David E. Landau, Mason Ladd Professor and Associate Dean for International Programs, Florida State University College of Law
- David S. Law, E. James Kelly, Jr., Class of 1965 Research Professor of Law, University of Virginia
- Miguel Schor, Class of 1977 Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Law, Drake University Law School
- Panel Moderator: Joseph S. Miller, Ernest P. Rogers Chair of Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition Law, University of Georgia School of Law
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Panel 3: Individual Rights and Democratic Participation
- Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Professor of Law, Stetson Law
- Eugene D. Mazo, Associate Professor of Law, Duquesne University
- Atiba Ellis, Laura B. Chisholm Distinguished Research Scholar and Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve School of Law
- Panel Moderator: Lori A. Ringhand, J. Alton Hosch Professor of Law & Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, University of Georgia School of Law
2:15 Closing Remarks
Jasmine Furin, Editor in Chief, Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law
Contact ruskintlaw@uga.edu for questions and information about the conference.
University of Georgia Co-Sponsors include:
International Law Society
Accommodations
The University of Georgia School of Law is committed to providing reasonable access and accommodations for people with disabilities upon request. For questions about accessibility or to request accommodations, contact Chantelle Tickles at Chantelle.Tickles@uga.edu or 706-542-5167 at least three business days prior to the event.
