The Global Rise of Fascism, Authoritarianism & The Year Of Elections

Growing lack of confidence in political actors, institutions and methods of governance has contributed to the rise of right wing populism and significant shifts in electoral outcomes around the world. With South Africa, Mexico, India and Indonesia, along with 60+ countries, holding elections in 2024 the session will explore the electoral arena as a particular, but not only, avenue by which organized forces are seeking to consolidate power, win the ‘war of ideas’ and change the global landscape. The virtual session will surface the political opportunities that exist in these times and what social movements, activists and scholars should consider when preparing for the road ahead (including beyond the state).

2024 will be a pivotal election year, with almost half the world's population living in a country that will host an election. Elections will impact nearly 4 billion people on the planet this year. This virtual session will explore the implications of rising authoritarian movements, the fragility and limitations of existing democracies, and the challenges facing social movements, pro-democracy movements and organized labor.

Speakers:

• Swastikha Arulingam is the President of the Commercial and Industrial Workers Union  in Sri Lanka and a prominent human rights lawyer and women’s rights activist.
• Dr. Nisrin Elamin, is a member of the Sudan Solidarity Collective and an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and African Studies at the University of Toronto, where her research focuses on Saudi and Emirati land grabs and community resistance to land grabs in Sudan. She is also a member of the Sudan Solidarity Collective which has been supporting local emergency response rooms and relief efforts in the face of a largely absent international aid community and state.
• Thenjiwe McHarris, organizer that played a role in the building of the Movement for Black Lives and currently helping to connect the Portal Project to international justice movements and solidarity networks.