Institute of Politics

The 2022 midterm elections in the United States are an important crossroads for the future of the country. Social and economic policy are at stake – but democracy itself may also be on the ballot.

This will be the first national election cycle since the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Americans will head to the polls with many of the same fundamental challenges that were highlighted that day – including severe racialized polarization, rampant disinformation, and attacks on nonpartisan election administration officials and the right to vote.

The U.S. isn’t alone in its recent struggles to renew and strengthen democracy, even as it heads into a consequential election year. Presidential elections will be held in France, Austria, Columbia, India, South Korea and the Philippines, while voters in Hungary, Malta and Latvia will cast ballots for parliament. And amidst these pending elections, most Western countries have turned their attention to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Patrick Gaspard, who currently serves as president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, will discuss global trends that might inform our shared understanding of the health and resilience of democracy in the U.S. Ambassador Gaspard will also explore how the outcomes of elections globally and the conflict in Ukraine could shift the balance of democracies around the world.

The conversation will be moderated by former Move On executive director and current IOP Pritzker Fellow Anna Galland.