Democracy Conference Schedule

Lamont Colucci (Concordia University Wisconsin)
“American Independence, Moral Order, and Democracy Promotion at 250: U.S. Foreign Policy under Moral Responsibility”

Marking the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, this presentation examines American foreign policy and democracy promotion as a civilizational and strategic outgrowth of American independence, rooted in Christian theology and natural law. Tracing a lineage from the founding through Roosevelt, Truman, Reagan, and Bush, it argues that U.S. foreign policy integrates moral purpose with prudential action, alliance structures, and deterrence to confront authoritarian and totalitarian threats and sustain democratic order.
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Corwin Smidt (Calvin University)
“Cultural Nationalism and Satisfaction with Democracy: The American Context”

Although there have recently been considerable scholarly and journalistic discussions related to Christian nationalism, this paper focuses on the relationship between “cultural nationalism” and satisfaction with democracy (SWD) within the American context.  The analysis will be based on an examination of an April 2024 Pew survey of American adults (N=3,600). The paper will examine the extent to which the relationship between cultural nationalism and SWD holds after controlling for various other potential factors shaping SWD.
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Rachel Yoo (Gordon College)
“From Broadcast to Platforms: Journalism, Podcasts, and the Transformation of the Democratic Public Sphere”

This paper offers a framework for understanding how platform journalism is transforming the contemporary democratic public sphere. While traditional broadcast media historically operated within institutional and regulatory frameworks, the rise of digital platforms has enabled new forms of political commentary that circulate outside these constraints. The paper examines how media forms negotiate the evolving relationship among institutions, platforms, and democratic discourse, drawing on theories of the public sphere and scholarship on hybrid media systems.
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DISCUSSANT
Laura Olson (Texas Christian University)