Task Force on US Strategy to Support Democracy and Counter Authoritarianism

About the Task Force

In September 2020, Freedom House, CSIS, and the McCain Institute formed the Task Force on US Strategy to Support Democracy and Counter Authoritarianism, a bipartisan group of leaders, experts, and former policy makers committed to addressing the worldwide decline in democratic freedom and the rise in authoritarianism that endanger US national security. The task force spent months examining, debating, and developing recommendations for its report, Reversing the Tide: Towards A New US Strategy to Support Democracy and Counter Authoritarianism.

Acknowledgements

The Task Force has conducted itself as a working Task Force, with the active engagement of its members. The final recommendations of this report draw on the significant experience of the Task Force members, who contributed their deep expertise to help create recommendations that are both forward-looking and practical.

We are pleased that the Task Force’s final report reflects a general consensus of our Task Force members and the three partner institutions. All Task Force members and partners generally endorse the judgments and approaches within the final report, though not necessarily every finding and every recommendation. Task Force member affiliations are provided for identification purposes and do not imply the endorsement of their institutions.

The Task Force effort was divided into five workstreams, each under the capable leadership of a Task Force member working group chair and co-chair. The Task Force is immensely grateful to the many members of the working groups and other experts who were consulted in the course of the work of the Task Force and who gave generously of their time, discussing and reviewing drafts and ideas. Their insights, experience, and substantive contributions were invaluable, and many of our recommendations emerged from these discussions. The report’s final recommendations, however, do not necessarily reflect the view of working group members and experts who were consulted. Participation in a working group or a consultation implies no general or specific endorsement of any part of the final report. The affiliations of working group members and experts are provided for identification purposes and do not imply the endorsement of their institutions. 

The report also significantly benefits from a number of interviews conducted with sitting members of Congress and individuals who at the time of their interviews, or previously, served at the highest levels in the US government. We thank all of them for offering their insights and giving their time to us. We also consulted with a number of civil society leaders around the world, and are grateful for their candor and the work they do every day. Some have been listed at the end of this report, while others do not appear, in part due to the daily dangers they face in standing up for freedom.

The Task Force would not have happened without the leadership and vision of the President of Freedom House, Michael Abramowitz. The Task Force benefited significantly from the thoughtful engagement and guidance of our partners at CSIS, Dr. John Hamre and Craig Cohen, and at the McCain Institute, Ambassador Mark Green, Ambassador Josette Sheeran, and Paul Fagan. We express our gratitude to Charles Babington for his exceptional editing skills, and to the staff of Freedom House who provided their support, most especially Annie Boyajian, as well as Ben Schultz, Adrian Shahbaz, Catherine Hanley, Tyler Roylance, and Anne Haynes. We were also fortunate to have the support of three exceptional Freedom House interns, Anastasia Perez-Ternent, Emily Colcord Schrader, and Rebecca Barker, as well as that of Tracy Navichoque and Jada Fraser.

Finally, the three institutions are enormously grateful to the generosity of Craig Newmark Philanthropies and the Merrill Family Foundation, which made the entire project possible. 

— Alex Thier and Anne Witkowsky, Task Force Codirectors

Task Force Staff

J Alexander Thier
Task Force Codirector; CEO of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, and Senior Democracy Fellow (Non-resident) at Freedom House

Anne Witkowsky
Task Force Codirector; Senior Democracy Fellow (Nonresident), Freedom House

Annie Boyajian
Director of Advocacy, Freedom House

Benjamin Schultz
Advocacy Officer, Freedom House

Catherine Hanley
Executive Assistant, Freedom House

Anne Haynes
Special Assistant to the President, Freedom House

Rebecca Barker
Intern

Anastasia Perez-Ternent
Intern

Emily Schrader
Intern

Jada Fraser
Research Assistant for the Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Tracy Navichoque
Program Manager, Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University, FSI/Cyber Policy Center

Working Groups

Working Group I: Investing in institutions essential to democracy, including free and fair elections, independent media, and civil society

David J. Kramer (Working Group I Lead)
Senior Fellow in the Václav Havel Program for Human Rights & Diplomacy and Director for European & Eurasian Studies, Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, Florida International University

Nicole Bibbins Sedaca (Working Group I Co-Lead)
Deputy Director and Professor, Master of Science in Foreign Service Program, Georgetown University; Kelly and David Pfeil Fellow, George W. Bush Institute

Sheila S. Coronel (Task Force Member)
Toni Stabile Professor and Director, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University

Thomas Carothers
Senior Vice President for Studies and Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Paul Fagan
Senior Director of the Human Rights and Democracy Programs, McCain Institute for International Leadership, Arizona State University

Larry Diamond
Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University

Jamie Fly
Senior Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Thomas Kahn
Faculty Fellow, Center for Congressional Studies and Presidential Studies, American University

Monica V. Kladakis
Senior Advisor for Human Rights and Democracy, McCain Institute for International Leadership, Arizona State University

Sarah Margon
Director of US Foreign Policy, Open Society Foundations

Derek Mitchell
President, National Democratic Institute

Arch Puddington
Senior Scholar Emeritus, Freedom House

Pamela Reeves
Senior Fellow in International and Public Policy, Brown University

Daniel Twining
President, International Republican Institute

Christopher Walker
Vice President for Studies and Analysis, National Endowment for Democracy

Working Group II: Reforming U.S. architecture and alliances in support of democracy

Ambassador Sarah E. Mendelson (Working Group II Lead)
Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy, Head of Heinz College in Washington, DC, Carnegie Mellon University

Rob Berschinski
Senior Vice President for Policy, Human Rights First

Sundaa Bridgett-Jones
Managing Director, Policy and Coalitions, The Rockefeller Foundation

Camille Busette
Senior Fellow of Economic Studies, Governance Studies, Metropolitan Policy Program; Director of the Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative, Brookings Institution

Anthony F. Pipa
Senior Fellow, Center for Sustainable Development, Brookings Institution

Ambassador Mark P. Lagon
Chief Policy Officer, Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Elisa Massimino
Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Chair in Human Rights, Georgetown University Law Center

Joe Powell
Deputy CEO, Open Government Partnership

Ashley Quarcoo (Task Force Member)
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Kori Schake
Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute

Ambassador Thomas Shannon (Task Force Member)
Senior International Policy Advisor at Arnold & Porter; Former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

William B. Taylor Jr.
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine

Working Group III: Harnessing and setting norms for technology to increase positive impact, and reduce the undermining of democratic norms and practices

Ambassador Eileen Donahoe (Working Group III Lead)
Executive Director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University, FSI/Cyber Policy Center

Vera Zakem (Working Group III Co-lead, Lead on disinformation)
Senior Technology and Policy Advisor, Institute for Security and Technology; Founder, Zakem Global Strategies

Steve Crown
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Human Rights, Microsoft Corporation

Steven Feldstein
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Ross LaJeunesse
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University

Mark Latonero
Senior Associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Rebecca MacKinnon
Founding Director, Ranking Digital Rights

Tom McAndrew
CEO, Coalfire

Nick Pickles
Head of Public Policy Strategy, Development and Partnerships, Twitter

Peter Pomerantsev
Senior Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University

Philip Reiner
Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Security and Technology

Adrian Shahbaz
Director for Technology and Democracy, Freedom House

Moira Whelan
Director for Democracy and Technology, National Democratic Institute

Working Group IV: Combatting corruption and kleptocracy

Stuart Levey (Working Group IV Lead)
Former Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence

Annie Boyajian (Working Group IV Co-Lead)
Director of Advocacy, Freedom House

Gerardo Berthin
Director of Latin America and Caribbean Programs, Freedom House

Brad Brooks-Rubin
Managing Director, The Sentry

Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi (Task Force Member)
Co-founder, Board Chair and Interim CEO of Afrobarometer; Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of Ghana, Legon

Michael Leiter
National Security Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

Sigal Mandelker
Former US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence

Hilary Mossberg
Former Director, Illicit Finance Policy, The Sentry

Nate Schenkkan
Director of Research Strategy, Freedom House

Adam Szubin
Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Juan Zarate
Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combatting Terrorism (2005-2009)

Working Group V: Aligning economic, trade, development, and investment policy with the goal of strengthening democracy

Michael J. Green (Working Group V Lead)
Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Professor and Director of Asian Studies, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service

Rory MacFarquhar (Working Group V Co-Lead)
Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Global Economics and Finance, National Security Council

Bennett Freeman
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

Charles Freeman
Senior Vice President for Asia, US Chamber of Commerce

Amy Lehr
Senior Associate, Human Rights Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Greer Meisels
Chief of Staff, Institute of International Finance

Scott Miller
Senior Adviser, Abshire-Inamori Leadership Academy, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Daniel F. Runde
Senior Vice President & Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Nargiza Salidjanova
Director for Economics and Trade, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission

Kelly Ann Shaw
Senior Adviser, Project on Prosperity and Development, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Jon Temin
Director of Africa Programs, Freedom House

Sharon Waxman
President and CEO, Fair Labor Association

Interviews 

High Level Interviews

Elliott Abrams
Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Madeleine K. Albright
Former Secretary of State

Peter Berkowitz
Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Stephen Biegun
Former Deputy Secretary of State of the United States

Ambassador William J. Burns
President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Michael Chertoff
Chairman of the Chertoff Group and Chairman of Freedom House

Michèle Flournoy
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

Stephen J. Hadley
Former National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush

Anthony Lake
Former National Security Advisor of the United States

Michael McFaul
Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

Ambassador Samantha Power
Professor of Practice, Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School

Condoleezza Rice
66th Secretary of State, Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution

Robert Zoellick
Former President of the World Bank, US Trade Representative & US Deputy Secretary of State
 

Congressional Interviews

Sen. Ben Cardin
US Senator (D-MD)

Rep. Karen Bass
US Representative (D-CA-37)

Sen. Marsha Blackburn
US Senator (R-TN) 

Sen. Tammy Duckworth
US Senator (D-IL)

Rep. Adam Kinzinger
US Representative (R-IL-16)

Rep. Gregory Meeks
US Representative (D-NY-5)

Sen. Jim Risch
US Senator (R-ID)

Sen. Rick Scott
US Senator (R-FL)

Sen. Thom Tillis
US Senator (R-NC)

Expert Consultations

Henri J. Barkey
Cohen Professor of International Relations, Lehigh University

Jamille Bigio
Senior Fellow for Women and Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations

Tatyana Bolton
Policy Director for Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats, R St Institute

Saskia Brechenmacher
Fellow, Democracy and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Stanley S. Byers
Lead for International Cyber Strategy, USAID

Charles G. Davidson
Editor, Offshore Initiative

Evelyn N. Farkas, Ph.D.
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia and 2020 candidate for Congress in NY

Stephen J. Flanagan
Senior Political Scientist, The RAND Corporation

Charles Gati
Senior Research Professor of European and Eurasian Studies, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Katie Harbath
Former Public Policy Director, Facebook

Jeffrey Irvine
Senior Vice President, Global Security, American Express Company

Carla Koppell
Senior Advisor and Distinguished Fellow, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Paul Massaro
Policy Advisor, US Helsinki Commission

Mark Montgomery
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Christopher Painter
Former Coordinator for Cyber Issues, US State Department.

Sandra Pepera
Senior Associate and Director, Gender, Women and Democracy, National Democratic Institute

Civil Society Consultations

Florencio “Butch” Abad
Philippine Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (2010-2016)

Barış Altıntaş
Co-Director, Media and Law Studies Association (Turkey)

Shaza Bala Elmahdi
Sudan Country Director, Center for International Private Enterprise

Dr. Mutaal Girshab
Director of RCDCS, Human Rights and Pro-democracy Activist

James Gomez
Regional Director, Asia Centre (Bangkok, Thailand)

Idayat Hassan
Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja

Mukami Marete
Co-Executive Director, UHAI - the East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative (UHAI EASHRI)

Franklin Oduro
Resident Program Director, Elections, NDI, Ethiopia Office

İsrafil Özkan
Secretary General General, Freedom Research Association

Veysel Ok
Co-Director, Media and Law Studies Association (Turkey)

Márta Pardavi
Co-Chair, Hungarian Helsinki Committee

Björn van Roozendaal
Programmes Director, ILGA-Europe

Mu Sochua
Former Minister of Women's Affairs (Cambodia)

Svitlana Valko
Head of Board, Truth Hounds

Leon Willems
Director, Policy & Programmes, Free Press Unlimited

Partners

Freedom House

Freedom House was founded in 1941 under the patronage of Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendel Willkie, as a bipartisan voice to champion US leadership on behalf of democracy around the world. Today, Freedom House is an independent nonpartisan organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy. Freedom House uniquely focuses on analysis, advocacy, and action. Not only does Freedom House identify the emerging threats to democracy, it also advocates for effective policies to counter those threats, and empower frontline activists to defend human rights.
Learn more at www.freedomhouse.org.
 

Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world’s greatest challenges. Founded in 1962, CSIS’s purpose is to define the future of national security.
Learn more at www.csis.org.
 

McCain Institute for International Leadership

Inspired by the leadership of Senator John McCain and his family’s legacy of public service, the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University implements concrete programs aimed at making a difference in people’s lives across a range of critical areas: leadership development, human rights, rule of law, international security and combatting human trafficking.
Learn more at www.mccaininstitute.org.