About the Stanford Democracy Hub

Democracy, at its core, is an exercise of cooperation, deliberation, and self governance to create the communities we want to live in together. Similarly, a fundamental assumption guiding the Democracy Hub is that no one entity at Stanford “owns” civic and democratic expertise and practice. Strengthening our democratic values and practices is a collective responsibility that is both central to the mission of the university, and requires collaborative engagement across our students, alumni, faculty, staff, schools, departments, institutions, centers, and our broader community. Hence, a Hub.

Indeed scholars, students, and leaders from all corners of Stanford are working on the vital project of strengthening democracy. 

The Hub seeks to make more visible, accessible, coordinated, valued, and, ultimately, more impactful that shared project of reimagining our civic purpose and delivering on the promise of democracy: creating the societies we want to live in together and the governments that support our communities.

Strategic Priorities

Collaborative Leadership: A Hub Advisory, comprised of faculty, staff, and students offer direct guidance to the Hub leadership. The Democracy Hub is supported through the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) under the faculty leadership of Mosbacher Director Kathryn Stoner and Senior Fellow Larry Diamond. Previous support was also provided by the Haas Center for Public Service and Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. 

Genesis: At the request of Freeman Spogli Institute Faculty Director, Michael McFaul, and the FSI Advisory, a dedicated team developed a comprehensive audit of existing courses, research, and democratic engagement practices to put into broader context the collective activities of our campus community. The inventory served as a platform to feature and strengthen those efforts, and explore new opportunities for innovation and collaboration. 

Campus engagement began in Fall 2022. The inventory process was completed in Spring 2023. A leadership team with regular input from project advisors guided the efforts, and ongoing solicitations for feedback through multiple channels was a key strategy for collecting, deliberating, and sharing information across campus and other institutions of higher education. (See Process & Deliverables outlining the first phase, and Boundaries & Horizons providing details on the inventory process.) 

A final Report and Set of Recommendations was completed in June 2023, offering insights and opportunities for future directions, which guide our ongoing efforts.