Threats to democracy are increasing in the United States and around the world—from the rise of authoritarianism to the spread of misinformation. In 2023, the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy focused on defending against those threats while simultaneously studying and invigorating the institutions, practices, and cultural underpinnings that are the foundations of self government.
'The Karsh Institute aims to shape a thriving future for democracy.'
Through all this work—robust interdisciplinary scholarship, research and teaching, and programs and partnerships designed to engage the public and influence policy agendas—the Karsh Institute aims to shape a thriving future for democracy.
A number of new initiatives were announced this year to accelerate the Institute’s work, including:
The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service
Tracing its history back more than 80 years, the Cooper Center is a core UVA institution, known for its practical work supporting communities, governments, and public-sector leaders from across the Commonwealth. Announced this spring, the center’s integration into the Karsh Institute was a natural move given its longstanding commitment to democracy in our region.
Digital technology and democracy
The Karsh Institute’s Digital Technology for Democracy Lab proposal was selected by the University to be funded as part of UVA’s Grand Challenges Research Initiatives. Over the next five years, the Digital Technology for Democracy initiative will explore how rapidly evolving technologies can create challenges for—but also fortify—democratic institutions and practices. It is a collaboration among scholars, policymakers, nonprofit and private-sector leaders, designers, and others.
Practitioner Fellows Program
The Karsh Institute’s Practitioner Fellows Program engages industry leaders whose work supports the vitality of democracy. Five outstanding practitioner fellows joined the Karsh Institute in 2023:
Distinguished Fellow in Journalism
Sponsored in partnership with Virginia HumanitiesEvan Smith, journalist and entrepreneur
Practitioner Fellow in Data and Democracy
Sponsored in partnership with the UVA School of Data ScienceRoya Pakzad, technology and human rights researcher
Practitioner Fellows in Democracy
Lise Clavel, former White House senior advisor
Srdja Popovic, global pro-democracy leader
Sanjay Suchak, photojournalist
A new home for collaboration
UVA approved plans for the future site of the Karsh Institute, a 65,000-square-foot facility that will be constructed in 2026 as part of the Emmet-Ivy Entrance Corridor. The Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy will occupy approximately 17,500 square feet of the building, which is designed to support and encourage collaboration between the Karsh Institute and schools, centers, and departments across Grounds, in the surrounding community, across the country, and around the world.
Research
Through innovative, interdisciplinary approaches, the Karsh Institute supports research that investigates the cultural underpinnings of democracy, as well as the forces that erode or bolster it.
'One Small Step pairs people from diverse backgrounds with those who have different (and sometimes opposing) viewpoints.'
The impact of dialogue on polarization
The Karsh Institute’s One Small Step program, a collaboration with StoryCorps, pairs people from diverse backgrounds with those who have different (and sometimes opposing) viewpoints to engage in conversation. In addition to facilitating hundreds of dialogues, the Karsh Institute also continued to support research examining how those interactions impact polarization and attitudes about democracy over time.
Voter confidence in the Commonwealth
The Karsh Institute continued its survey-based research on voter confidence and electoral integrity in Virginia. Professors Jennifer Lawless and Paul Freedman compared 2022 election outcomes with pre-election surveys asking about voters’ confidence in the process, perceptions of the health of democracy, and personal experiences at the ballot box.
Ways to reduce potential fraud in disaster-relief programs
Designed to prevent layoffs during the early pandemic, the U.S. government’s Paycheck Protection Plan had a more successful second phase. The Karsh Institute’s CLEAR Lab (Corruption Lab on Ethics, Accountability, and Rule of Law) analyzed the two stages and found that the second, which included stricter application requirements than the first, reduced the amount of potential fraud by $744 million. The research provides valuable policy lessons for the future.
Pan-University support
The Karsh Institute was behind the research efforts of several UVA faculty members over the summer, including a book manuscript workshop for Justene Hill Edwards whose forthcoming book details the “swift rise and disastrous fall” of the Freedman’s Bank, the first savings bank for newly emancipated communities, established by Congress in 1865.
Teaching
Faculty, staff, and practitioners helped students explore democracy from all angles in 2023. Students also benefitted from the Karsh Institute’s new Democracy Course Guide—a comprehensive listing compiled each semester that includes classes from across the University that are on or related to democracy.
Learning to navigate political conversations
“Not every political discussion needs to be an argument” was one student’s takeaway from Associate Professor Rachel Wahl’s political dialogue course. Wahl, who directs the Karsh Institute’s Good Life Political Project, incorporates One Small Step conversations into her class to give students an opportunity to listen to and learn from peers with different perspectives.
Exploring the history of democracy
Jacqueline Arthur-Montagne, John L. Nau III Assistant Professor of the History & Principles of Democracy and UVA assistant professor of classics, teaches a class on ancient Athenian democracy where students role-play as citizens of Athens in the fifth century BCE, acting as an assembly to pass laws, conduct trials, and contend with historical crises. This and other courses offered through the Karsh Institute’s Nau Lab give students the opportunity to explore historical and conceptual questions of democratic governance.
Bringing international practitioners into the classroom
Exiled for exposing the Belarusian government’s human-rights abuses, dissident Volya Vysotskaia stood in a New Cabell Hall classroom in October and told her story. Vysotskaia was among the activists who visited the University this year through Karsh’s Democratic Futures Project, which welcomes democracy advocates from around the world to engage with students and to partner with researchers.
'There are many ways to serve American democracy, whether you're a policymaker, activist, banker, or chef.'
Sharing wisdom on public service
There are many ways to serve American democracy, whether you work as a policymaker, an activist, a banker, or a chef. Melody Barnes, executive director of the Karsh Institute, lectured in the University’s Democracy and Public Service course this fall to share the message that public service is a lifelong commitment to effecting positive change. The course is a core requirement for UVA’s Public Service Pathways program, which is supported by the Karsh Institute.
Public Engagement
In 2023, the Karsh Institute continued to bring unique programs to UVA to invigorate discourse on democracy:
Democracy from every angle
The Karsh Institute welcomed thousands to Charlottesville for Democracy360, a free, three-day exploration of democracy that included lively public programming, engaging hands-on working sessions, and private convenings focused on a wide range of timely topics. The outstanding lineup of speakers included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, podcast host and journalist Kara Swisher, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Virginia’s current Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera, Fox News Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel, Freedom House’s Michael Abramowitz, PBS NewsHour’s Amna Nawaz, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, and more than 200 others.
Supporting free expression
This fall, the Karsh Institute joined university leaders from across the Commonwealth for the Higher Education Summit on Free Speech and Intellectual Diversity, hosted by the office of Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin at UVA. As part of the summit, Karsh Executive Director Melody Barnes moderated a conversation with Virginia college presidents on how to foster civility in campus debates.
Thought-provoking conversations
Two podcasts and a speaker series from the Karsh Institute offer audiences a distinct perspective on democracy-related events from the past and present.
The Nau Lab hosted six conversations in the “Touchstones of Democracy” series, which explores key events, places, thinkers, and texts that inform the history and principles of democracy.
The Karsh Institute’s podcast “Democracy in Danger”—hosted by Will Hitchcock and Siva Vaidhyanathan—won a 2023 Webby Award, beating podcasts from the Washington Post, NBC News, and the Economist. Now in its seventh season with co-host Emily Burrill, “Democracy in Danger” takes a scholarly and compelling approach to covering threats to representative governance.
The Karsh Institute’s Repair Lab won gold and silver Signal awards for its podcast “Wading Between Two Titans,” which highlights the intersection of place, race, and power, including issues of climate gentrification and redlining.
Powerful student speeches
What is American democracy’s greatest strength? Ten student finalists delivered speeches in response to that question at UVA’s Student Oratory Competition, which the Karsh Institute once again co-hosted this year with Think Again @UVA. Darden and UVA Law student Peter Lee Hamilton delivered the winning speech, arguing that American democracy’s greatest strength is its people.
Lessons from a leader in the food-sovereignty movement
Nicknamed the “Sioux Chef,” Ogala Lakota citizen Sean Sherman is among the most celebrated culinary leaders in the country and one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023. The Karsh Institute’s Indigenous Studies Working Group hosted Sherman on Grounds for a cooking demonstration and panel discussion about the rights of people to healthful and culturally relevant food.
Pathways for middle schoolers to achieve their dreams
Nearly 200 Charlottesville-area middle school students and counselors visited UVA Grounds this summer through Starr Hill Pathways, a free, three-week program hosted by the Karsh Institute’s Equity Center. Students participating in the program had the chance to explore more than a dozen potential careers—from filmmaking to veterinary medicine.
A celebration of democracy through art
Together with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies and the National Museum of American History, the Karsh Institute hosted “Democracy Day: Art and Democracy in American History” at the Smithsonian in September. The day began with the opening of Art in Embassies’ traveling exhibition “A More Perfect Union: American Artists and the Currents of Our Time.” Afternoon programming included artist-led tours and panel discussions exploring the interplay of art and democracy, and interactive activities reflecting on U.S. civic life.
Partnerships
Throughout the year, the Karsh Institute built strong partnerships across UVA and with outside organizations that are already bolstering democracy in a variety of areas:
Supporting local news
Americans need informative, independent journalism. This year, the Karsh Institute partnered with Virginia Humanities to highlight challenges facing local media and support solutions. The project established a network for local journalists across Virginia and brought them together for the inaugural Virginia Local News Summit, where journalists were connected with business leaders and donors who could help them secure the necessary resources. The goal is to make this program scalable across the country and around the world.
Fostering discussions on academia and democracy
In 2023, the Karsh Institute hosted private convenings on the role of higher education in democracy, partnering with esteemed outside organizations:
More Perfect, a bipartisan initiative to engage Americans in protecting our democracy
The Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement Coalition, a group of education and public-policy organizations advocating for democracy-focused learning
Lumina, a foundation dedicated to ensuring quality post-secondary education for all
Publishing innovative scholarship
The Karsh Institute partnered with University of Virginia Press to release a new book series, Democratic Ideals in Global Perspective. The series features cutting-edge scholarship on democracy, from antiquity to the present, and includes titles written by both practitioners and academics.
Reaching audiences across the country and around the world
The Atlantic, VPM, and PBS NewsHour helped the Karsh Institute bring Democracy360 programming to a much wider audience. VPM and NewsHour live-streamed the events and, as the official streaming partner of the event, VPM now hosts the videos of all main-stage conversations. As the official media partner of Democracy360, The Atlantic brought its journalists to the main-stage discussions and shared Democracy360 programming with hundreds of thousands of viewers through its digital channels, even publishing one conversation as a feature article.
Looking Ahead
With the nation’s 250th anniversary on the horizon and critical elections in the United States and democracies across the globe in 2024, the next two years will call upon citizens of the world to defend and reinvigorate democratic institutions and culture. The Karsh Institute will continue to respond to that imperative by championing the belief that well-informed people can rule themselves.
In 2024, let us continue to discover all that we can accomplish together.