What Happens *as* it Happens Here? “The civic space – the space in which we air differences of opinion, voice our dissent, and in which we negotiate the compromises that define self-government – is closing… Fortunately, America has a uniquely robust civil society and philanthropic sector that can do what no other sector does to protect democracy.”
An Update: What Happens as it Happens Here? U.S. Philanthropy, Civil Society, and the Authoritarian Threat — Democracy Funders Network
In this brief update of the January 2023 report, we summarize how the trends we observed have become even more worrying. With implications for every funder's work, authoritarian populists have strengthened their hold on government power and are using it to restrict freedoms across a wide swathe of American life. Regardless of the programs or issue areas you fund, whether you're socially conservative or progressive, we hope the report and update will act as a guide to the challenges ahead and encourage greater collaboration across programmatic and institutional lines in defense of liberal democracy.Rising authoritarianism in the U.S. has the potential to profoundly damage civil society and the philanthropy that supports it, damage that itself has the potential to further accelerate autocratic rule. READ THE UPDATE> READ THE ORIGINAL REPORT>
democracyfundersnetwork.org