America's Democratic Backsliding: Why Now? Is Autocracy Inevitable?

Sun Aug 17 2025 at 02:00 pm to 03:30 pm UTC-04:00

Food City | Johnson City

League of Women Voters of Northeast Tennessee
Publisher/HostLeague of Women Voters of Northeast Tennessee
America's Democratic Backsliding: Why Now? Is Autocracy Inevitable?
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Sunday, August 17, 2-3:30p
Community Room (upstairs) at Food City, 920 State of Franklin, Johnson City

International examples of democratic erosion can help us better understand the issues currently facing American democracy. Until now, democratic backsliding has been a dynamic that has only been seen and studied in young democracies. Yet America is currently in the middle of a fairly rapid democratic reversal never seen in consolidated democracies. We will discuss how to recognize democratic backsliding, why it occurs, how vulnerable America is to democratic reversal, and things citizens can do to resist autocrats.
Our speaker is Gail Helt, a former CIA analyst who has covered political dynamics in autocratic countries, as well as countries who rejected autocracy in favor of democratic government. She currently runs the Security and Intelligence Studies Program at King University, where she teaches classes on intelligence analysis, intelligence ethics, foreign policy, and autocracy, among others.
Light refreshments will be served. Come and bring a friend! And remember, we do welcome men to our League, including in leadership positions. We keep the name because of its historical roots.
We live-stream our public events on our Facebook page and post the video to our YouTube page.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Food City, 509 N State of Franklin Rd Ste 4,Johnson City, Tennessee, United States

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