The Democracy Hub unites our campus community to critically understand, collaboratively reimagine, and effectively participate in democracy.
Our Story
In 2022, with global threats to democracy mounting and the United States still reckoning with deep political divisions, a simple question was posed to Professor Mike McFaul, Faculty Director of Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute: What is Stanford doing on democracy?
It quickly became clear that while Stanford was doing a great deal, no one could point to a single place that captured its full scope. Across campus, researchers, educators, students, and community leaders were engaged in a wide range of activities—from courses and fellowships to research, community partnerships, and events—all committed in some way to understanding and strengthening democracy. But the work was largely siloed, uncoordinated, and often invisible beyond individual schools or programs.
That question sparked an institutional effort to identify and understand the many ways Stanford was already advancing democratic values and practices, and to imagine what could be possible if those efforts were more visible, accessible, and coordinated.
Launched in Fall 2023, the Stanford Democracy Hub is our response to that call. Rather than creating something new, the Hub is designed as a nimble coordinating mechanism to elevate, amplify, and support what already exists. We are a shared resource for the community—students, faculty, staff, alumni, community partners, and the broader public—to more easily access, contribute to, and grow Stanford’s democracy work.
Furthering Stanford’s founding mission “to promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization,” the Democracy Hub aims to critically understand, collaboratively reimagine, and effectively participate in democracy—together.
Meet the Team
Are you a community member interested in learning more about Stanford's scholarship on democracy? Are you a campus center exploring collaborations? Are you new to Stanford and looking for where to plug in? Connect with Executive Director, Karina Kloos: krkloos@stanford.edu <> Schedule a call, Zoom, or on-campus meeting.
Why Now?
Democratic institutions and norms are fracturing around the country and world under the pressure of extreme political polarization, the rise of authoritarianism, and public distrust and disaffection.
Moreover, college campuses are experiencing the strain of both incivility and apathy, and there has been a generational marginalization of civic education—or what some scholars consider to be a diffuse decay in the civic culture that sustains democracy.