"The Decline of Democracies: A New World Order or Temporary Shift?" Melody Ellis Valdini, PhD, Political Science Professor at Portland State University
Our Social Justice Speaker Series on "The Future of Democracy" continues with a presentation from Political Science Professor, Dr. Melody Ellis Valdini. Her talk offers an overview of the recent decline in democracies in the world, with a focus on some common trends and developments that political scientists have noticed. In addition, she will offer several methods that are commonly proposed as potential fixes to this decline, and highlight both the most ineffective and effective solutions for the problem of declining democracies.
Melody Ellis Valdini (Ph.D. 2006, University of California, San Diego) is a professor in the political science department at Portland State University as well as the co-editor of the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. Her research focuses on the consequences of institutional design, with a particular focus on electoral systems, political parties, and women's descriptive representation. She has published in the American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, Electoral Studies, and Politics & Gender, and is the author of two books: The Character of Democracy: How Institutions Shape Politics (with Richard Clucas) and The Inclusion Calculation: Why Men Appropriate Women's Representation (both published by Oxford University Press). In 2020, her most recent book, The Inclusion Calculation, was selected as the winner of the Victoria Schuck Award by the American Political Science Association, which recognizes the best book published on women and politics in the previous year.