Threats to Democracy in the United States and Around the World
My conversation with Larry Diamond, one of the world's leading experts on democracy.
2024 was dubbed "The Year of Elections," as approximately 3.7 billion people in 72 countries around the world had the opportunity to vote, the largest election year in human history. Halfway through 2025, Larry Diamond joined me on our FSI podcast World Class to discuss how the results of those elections are playing out, especially in the United States, but also evolving trends in democratic progress and regression around the world.
Larry Diamond is the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), the William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford University.
Diamond’s research focuses on global trends affecting freedom and democracy and on U.S. and international policies to defend and advance democracy. His book, Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency, analyzes the challenges confronting liberal democracy in the United States and around the world at this potential “hinge in history,” and offers an agenda for strengthening and defending democracy at home and abroad.
Larry is one of the world’s greatest experts on democracy. Watch or listen to our conversation here: https://fsi.stanford.edu/news/how-democracy-doing-around-world
This interview tackled widespread concerns about global threats to the democratic process, delivering a thought-provoking discussion. Professor Larry Diamond offered insightful commentary on the recently passed Big and Beautiful Act. While some current policies are imperfect, they have not fundamentally undermined the democratic process in the United States, a point that should garner broad consensus. However, tactics such as private intimidation and coercion against individuals to influence bill passage in court, alongside California’s measures to deport undocumented immigrants, clearly violate democratic principles. Larry Diamond expressed deep concern about deviations from democratic norms in countries like Poland, Belgium, and Sri Lanka. In contrast, he found reassurance in South Korea’s constitutional approach to presidential impeachment, which prioritizes legal integrity over partisan influence. Thank you both for the engaging discussion.