New Global Learning Project on Authoritarian Dynamics

Faith in Action International is partnering with the Central European University (CEU) on a new global learning project to help U.S. social justice organizations learn from their international peers in countries that have experienced authoritarian dynamics. 

Organizers have hard-earned experience organizing for social and racial justice in the face of authoritarianism. We recognize the harm authoritarian governments can inflict on the health and well-being of vulnerable communities. We know that there are common authoritarian playbooks used to centralize power, undermine democracy, limit civic participation, and threaten human rights. We also know there are effective strategies that civic organizations and movements can adapt to protect and restore democratic institutions, health, and social equity. Yet this knowledge remains fragmented and is not readily accessible or usable by organizers.

Our Authoritarian Dynamics Global Learning project aims to expose social and racial justice organizations and networks in the U.S. to global learning that will help them identify and address authoritarian political and cultural dynamics. We connect U.S. organizations and networks with peers in other countries and provide a structured international learning process with participatory webinars and study trips.

The learning program combines hands-on, online, and offline exchanges, creating a space for dialogue, reflection, and collaboration across borders. Our partner, Central European University, an English-language research university with dual accreditation in Austria and the United States, has deep academic and institutional expertise in authoritarian dynamics and the political economy of non-democracies. It is headquartered in Vienna following a politically forced relocation from Budapest.

Faith in Action International supports faith-based community organizing in 24 U.S. states and in 14 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Support for the Authoritarian Dynamics Global Learning Project comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Foundation.