The SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University is leading an initiative that seeks to define and consolidate a pro-democracy agenda for the conservative movement in the United States.
Shoring up the foundations of American democracy requires a trans-partisan effort designed to protect the basic parameters, rules, and institutions of the American republic. The overall goal of this initiative is to explore the contours of a broad, inclusive pro-democracy movement. And ultimately, this initiative will bring factions from the political right and left together to discuss points of commonality, and to determine how to productively move a democracy agenda forward at the local, state, and federal level.
Recognizing the fact that too many democracy reform efforts are dominated by progressives, our initial work is focused on the center-right pro-democracy movement. Our efforts so far have convened key actors in the conservative ecosystem to discuss the imperative and specifics of an agenda. We have also begun to provide a targeted, data-based analysis of the key leaders and networks, electoral reforms, and messages that can inspire trust among distrustful but moveable elements of the conservative public.
In partnership with the R Street Institute—a DC–based center-right think tank focused on deep scholarship and pragmatic policy solutions that many groups tend to neglect—the SNF Agora Institute is focused on three objectives:
- Convening conservative experts and officials at the local and national level to discuss, explore, and codify a pro-democracy agenda;
- Conducting original research to provide a targeted, data-based analysis of the key leaders, organizations, and networks that can inspire trust among distrustful but moveable elements of the conservative public;
- Catalyzing work to actualize the convenings and research, including through establishing working groups on topics like local and federal policy, and how to communicate to grassroots leaders
We ultimately will be developing a public agenda that includes writing and publishing findings, and the development of a bi-partisan election monitoring project designed to restore faith in the electoral process, especially amongst conservatives.
To date, SNF Agora has partnered extensively with R Street on the initiative to host two convenings, one in Washington, D.C., and one in Utah. These convenings, which are being conducted off the record for now to ensure candor from all participants, have included governors, members of Congress, election officials, scholars, advocates, and funders.
The effort is being led by SNF Fellow Scott Warren, who has extensive experience as a social and civic entrepreneur and has been focused on convening disparate and diverse pro-democracy actors across the country.