A new generation of authoritarians has risen to power in democracies around the world. Since coming to office, these rulers have manipulated laws and reconfigured state bureaucracies, undermining civil liberties, flouting representative institutions, attacking the free press, and subverting international law. Figures like Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey, Viktor Mihály Orbán in Hungary, Narendra Modi in India, and Donald Trump in the United States have all attained office by embracing, and in some instances co-opting, conservative populist movements. This Matrix On Point panel will consider not only the illiberal tactics these right-wing autocrats have used to consolidate power and further their objectives, but also what it will take to undo the damage they have inflicted upon democratic institutions. Co-sponsored by the Institute of International Studies. REGISTER HERE.

In March, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented shutdown of the global economy. Governments (mostly in advanced economies) responded with an array of programs, from increased unemployment benefits, stimulus payments, small business assistance loans, and broad monetary support. In spite of these unprecedented interventions, all financed by a rapid expansion of public debt, the economic outlook continues to be very uncertain nearly nine months into the pandemic. What are the likely near- and long-term consequences of the pandemic for the global economy? Which populations have been most affected? Which industries are likely to recover, and which will not? How should we evaluate the success of economic measures taken by governments in the U.S. and around the world? Co-sponsored by the Clausen Center for International Business and Policy, and presented as part of the Berkeley Haas "New Thinking in a Pandemic" series, this “Matrix on Point” will bring together a panel of scholars to discuss the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. REGISTER HERE.

Within the next 30 years, slow-onset climate change may impel as many as 143 million people living in the Global South to relocate within their countries of origin. Longer-range forecasts predict that by 2070 rising temperatures may render one-fifth of the earth’s landmasses uninhabitable, forcing international migration on a massive scale. Among the displaced, low-income populations will be particularly vulnerable, and cities in the Global North may have to absorb and provide services for these immigrants. Given the politicization of migration in recent years, and the lack of international policies to protect climate refugees, climate change is anticipated to reinforce global inequalities. This Matrix On Point not only will address the dynamically interconnected humanitarian, ecological, and geopolitical impacts of climate migration, but will also propose forward-looking and compassionate policies that can help mitigate displacement, address global inequalities, and support refugees forced to leave their homelands due to extreme weather, devastated ecosystems, and other climate-related issues. REGISTER HERE

Please join us on February 3, 2021 at 12:00 PST (3:00pm ET) for a Matrix Distinguished Lecture by Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, and Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. Professor Allen’s lecture will focus on the findings of Our Common Purpose: Reinventing Democracy for the 21st Century, a report by the American Academy’s Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship. REGISTER HERE.