Countering Autocratization: Lessons from the 2025 Harvard Nonviolent Action Lab Summit
As the global autocratization crisis deepens, democracy activists face increasing stress.
In countries like South Korea, Guatemala, and Bangladesh, pro-democracy activism has driven reform or reversed authoritarian takeovers.
However, mass mobilization for democracy has struggled in Hong Kong, Georgia, Venezuela, and other cases.
A decline in the global success rate of nonviolent democracy movements has been observed in recent years.
What democracy movements can do to develop effective countermeasures is one of the most important issues in international politics today.
The Harvard University Ash Center’s Nonviolent Action Lab is working on projects to address this, including a forthcoming book by Erica Chenoweth.
Author's summary: Autocratization crisis affects democracy activists worldwide.