Activities taking place in CEDAR

The University of Birmingham’s new Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR) was officially launched on 16 June 2023 with a roundtable panel discussion on the topic of: “Is democratic backsliding really happening, and if so what impact has this had on human rights and development?”

Cutting-edge researchers from around the world came to Birmingham for the event, including Jennifer Gandhi (Yale University), Mamodou Gazibo (Université de Montréal), Rachel Gisselquist (United Nations University – WIDER), Staffan Lindberg (University of Gothenburg), and Andreas Schedler (Central European University). The event was introduced by René Lindstädt, Head of the School of Government, and Chaired by Nic Cheeseman, the Professor of Democracy, who both emphasised why the Centre, and the topic of the roundtable, is so important to the University – and the rest of the world.

CEDAR has been set up in order to draw together the research being conducted across the University on the challenges facing democracy, and foster new interdisciplinary networks, in order to make a positive contribution to efforts to protect political rights and civil liberties. It is led by Nic Cheeseman (Director), Tim Haughton (Deputy Director and Professor of Comparative and European Politics) and Licia Cianetti (Deputy Director and Department of Political Science and International Studies Lecturer in Political Science and International Studies). The work of CEDAR is also supported by two Research Fellows, Petra Alderman and Manoel Gehrke, who, in addition to conducting their own research on these issues, help to run a reading group, blog series, podcast and workshops.