COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS: AUTHORITARIANISM AND THE ASIA-PACIFIC

Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals presents Community Conversations: Authoritarianism and the Asia-Pacific. Featuring the Spring 2023 Inouye Distinguished Chair, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and the President of the East-West Center, Suzanne Vares-Lum. Moderated by Colin Moore, Chair of School of Communication & Information.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a history and Italian studies professor at New York University, a Guggenheim fellow and advisor to Protect Democracy. She is also an MSNBC columnist and regular contributor to CNN and The Washington Post. Her latest book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, looks at how illiberal leaders use propaganda, corruption, violence and machismo—and how they can be overcome.

The Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals brings prominent scholars, artists and public intellectuals to Hawai‘i to share their life experiences and foster public discourse regarding democratic ideals and civic engagement. The Inouye chair is administered jointly by the Department of American Studies in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters and the William S. Richardson School of Law.