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• Guest Lecture: Constitutional Democracy in Crisis in the United States

Guest Lecture: Constitutional Democracy in Crisis in the United States

07. Jan

• 16:00 to 18:00 (s.t.)

• Room C40.704 (Central Building)

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE UNITED STATES? WHY HAVE DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES PROVEN TO BE SO FRAGILE IN THE FACE OF POPULIST PRESSURE AND PRESIDENTIAL OVERREACH?

This public lecture will address the structural aspects of the American Constitution that are facilitating the current slide toward authoritarianism in the United States. While political culture, economic pressures, and other factors are contributing to the crisis, part of the explanation also lies in the weaknesses of certain basic constitutional systems, such as the electoral system, the design of the Senate, the gradual enlargement of presidential power over time, and the role of money in the political process. These aspects of the Constitution have opened the door to the erosion of democracy in America.

Professor Susan Williams, Walter W. Foskett Professor Emerita, has directed the Center for Constitutional Democracy and taught constitutional law at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law since 1991. During her career, she graduated from Harvard Law School, clerked for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and also taught at Cornell Law School.