Democratic Futures Project is a left-of-center academic and research project hosted at the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy. ^{1 2} Democratic Futures Project was co-founded by University of Virginia professor Steve Parks and Serbian political activist Srdja Popovic. ³

The project consists of activists, academics, and policymakers within the university that seeks to support what it considers to be “democratic advocates,” provide academics access to “grassroots advocacy work to enhance scholarly research,” and to provide additional information to students. ⁴

History and Leadership

Democratic Futures Project was co-founded by University of Virginia professor Steve Parks and Serbian political activist Srdja Popovic. ³

Parks is the founder of New Community Press in Philadelphia. His earlier career focused on Students’ Right to Their Own Language (SRTOL), which focused on embedding politics into left-of-center community partnerships and publications. ³

Popovic was involved in the efforts to oust former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic and is a co-founder of the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS). In 2014, he was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. ³

Activities and Funding

Democratic Futures Project is an academic and research project hosted at the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy. ^{1 2}

The project creates partnerships between professors and activists to research activism- and advocacy-related work and sponsors undergraduate coursework and internships to support studies on democracy and activism. ⁵ The project claims a new rhetoric and set of strategies for “communal struggle” is necessary for political representation and supports the far-left concept of equitable practices. ⁵

Democratic Futures Project course offerings include courses on human rights, the situation in Myanmar/Burma, global advocacy, democracy, enacting democratic struggles, international human rights, and public narrative building. ⁶ Students and courses as a part of the program have released several publications on activist-related topics. ⁷ The program’s topics have included Burmese Democratic Futures Working Group, The Nehemiah Project, Oslo Freedom Fellows, Philippines Rural Democracy Project, Rios de Pie, South Sudan and Sudanese Artists Role in Influencing Democratic Processes, and Syrians for Truth and Justice. ⁸

As of November 2024, at least fourteen University of Virginia students are affiliated with the project. ⁹ Faculty members and faculty advocates at the University of Virginia who are involved with the project have worked with or have affiliations with several organizations including Bloomberg News, Democracy in Danger, Peace Appeal Foundation, United States Institute of Peace, Foreign Policy magazine, Center for International Forestry Research, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), National Endowment for Democracy, Renew Democracy Initiative, and the Human Rights Foundation. ¹⁰

Democratic Futures Project is in partnership with the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation. ¹¹ The left-of-center organization End Arbitrary Detention has a base withing Democratic Futures Project. ¹²

Funding

Democratic Futures Project is funded by the Karsh Institute of Democracy and the Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation at the University of Virginia. ¹³

1. Armesto, Jason. “’Dissidents and troublemakers’ teach Uva students to fight authoritarians.” The Daily Progress. October 17, 2023. Accessed via Web Archive November 1, 2024. https://archive.ph/XRgg1.
2. “Global Democracy Activists Reaffirm UVA Values.” University of Virginia. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://global.virginia.edu/stories/global-democracy-activists-reaffirm-uva-values.
3.  “Governance.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/governance
4. “dfp – Democratic Futures Project.” University of Virginia. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://lists.virginia.edu/sympa/info/dfp.
5. ^[1] “About.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/.
6. “Course Offerings.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed November 2, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/course-offerings.
7. “Publications.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/publications-projects.
8. “Projects.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/projects.
9. “Students.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/students.
10.  “Faculty & Advocates.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/faculty-advocates.
11. “The Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022 Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/134165338/202411719349300241/full.
12. “Tweet.” Felix Maradiaga Twitter Account. Posted April 28, 2024. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://x.com/maradiaga/status/1784660106942017821.
13. “About.” Democratic Futures Project. Accessed November 1, 2024. https://www.democraticfuturesproject.com/.