Washington, DC and New Brunswick, NJ — Freedom House and Rutgers Democracy Lab are pleased to announce a strategic partnership connecting Rutgers students with Freedom House’s leading experts on media and technology. The partnership will produce new research examining how human rights and democratic principles are being tested in the United States today, drawing on Freedom House’s global expertise to bring comparative context to the analysis.
The initiative comes at a moment when just 21 percent of the world’s population lives in a country that Freedom House categorizes as “Free,” the smallest proportion since 1995, and as authoritarian leaders around the world are using an increasingly sophisticated playbook to control information, limit free expression, and erode civic life.
“Freedom House and Rutgers Democracy Lab share a profound commitment to the fight to advance democracy and freedom, and are natural partners in this effort to advance new, bold ideas that strengthen protections for rights online,” said Freedom House CEO Jamie Fly. “Freedom House is excited to partner with RDL in confronting the democratic challenges of our time, and helping to both learn from and equip the next generation of democracy’s defenders with the tools they need to carry the fight for freedom forward.”
Under the partnership, Freedom House and Rutgers Democracy Lab will conceptualize and publish research on media, technology, and democracy in the United States, drawing on Freedom House’s comparative framework for the study of global democracy to bring international context and lessons to bear on domestic challenges.
“This partnership enables the Rutgers Democracy Lab’s Technology and Democracy Research Hub to bring students and leading researchers together to understand threats that come from a global resurgence in authoritarianism,” said Nicholas Longo, Director of the Rutgers Democracy Lab. “It will build young people’s ability to be engaged democratic citizens.”
Rutgers students will participate in hands-on research on important technology and democracy issues, learn from Freedom House experts through courses and public events, and contribute to critical conversations and collective efforts to strengthen democracy and freedom online. By combining Freedom House’s global expertise and research capacity with Rutgers Democracy Lab’s student engagement model, the innovative partnership will develop new leaders to advance and strengthen democracy.
About Freedom House
Freedom House is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to create a world where all are free. We inform the world about threats to freedom, mobilize global action, and support democracy’s defenders.
About Rutgers Democracy Lab
Rutgers Democracy Lab (RDL) creates opportunities for students to build civic skills, talk across differences, and work together to solve real-world problems. We collaborate with faculty, staff, and community partners to combine research on youth civic engagement, technology, and democracy with innovative programs that help students turn ideas into action. Our goal is simple: we mobilize the power of Rutgers to strengthen democracy.