Dangerous Democracy

The Dangerous Democracy workshop explores the historical tensions between law and democracy, examining how legal mechanisms have been used to undermine democratic institutions, and conversely, how political pursuits have eroded the rule of law. It challenges the conventional narrative that liberal democracy and the rule of law are inherently reinforcing, instead highlighting their more complex interconnections. Organized by the Stanford Center for Law and History (SCLH), the Sally B. and William H. Neukom Center for the Rule of Law at Stanford and EuroStorie-Centre of Excellence at the University of Helsinki, the workshop brings together scholars from multiple disciplines to better understand the contemporary crisis of liberal democracy through a historical and global lens.