The George Washington International Law Review (GWILR) hosted its 2025 symposium, “Global Votes, Global Threats: Democracy in the 2024 Super-Cycle Election,” on March 21, 2025. The symposium brought together a distinguished array of scholars, practitioners, and journalists to the Jack Morton Auditorium in Washington, D.C., to discuss the pressing issues surrounding electoral processes. Last year, over two billion people across 73 countries and the European Union participated in national elections.
While the symposium provided a robust examination of global electoral challenges, it also inadvertently highlighted national political complexities.
Originally slated to deliver the keynote address was South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool. The focus of Amb. Rasool’s keynote address would have drawn not on his experience as an ambassador but rather on his experience in South Africa fighting racial discrimination. Specifically, into his participation in South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy following his meeting Nelson Mandela as a political detainee in 1987.
One week before the symposium, Amb. Rasool was declared persona non grata by President Donald J. Trump’s administration and expelled from the United States. This diplomatic action stemmed from Amb. Rasool’s comments criticizing President Trump and his allies for promoting white supremacy during a think tank webinar in Johannesburg.
This situation underscores the sensitivity surrounding discussions of national political figures and the potential repercussions for diplomatic relations, even within academic settings focused on global issues. As the symposium’s eventual keynote speaker noted, Amb. Rasool’s inability to attend due to being “literally on a plane right now heading back to South Africa” became a stark illustration of the current political climate.
In light of these circumstances, GWILR invited its “seventh choice,” Wajahat Ali, a prominent writer and commentator, to deliver the keynote address titled “Cloudy with a Chance of Authoritarianism.” Ali’s engaging and unfiltered speech provided an insightful analysis of rising global authoritarian trends and their implications for democratic institutions worldwide. He shared his personal experiences and observations, drawing parallels between global challenges and domestic issues, including the spread of misinformation and the weaponization of narratives.
Wajahat Ali’s keynote speech touched on the topic of Israel-Palestine. As a result, some students briefly walked out in reaction to his commentary, though they did return to listen to the rest of the conference.
Ultimately, the GWILR symposium on “Global Votes, Global Threats” proved to be a significant and timely event. While the circumstances surrounding the original keynote speaker highlighted the intricate interplay between global discussions and national politics, the symposium itself fostered a valuable exchange of knowledge and perspectives. Attendees left with a deeper understanding of the multifaceted challenges facing democracies globally and a renewed sense of the responsibility of future legal practitioners to advance democracy, human rights, and human dignity. The dedication of the GWILR team and the insightful contributions of all the speakers ensured a memorable and thought-provoking symposium.
The Panels
The bulk of the symposium, meticulously organized by GWILR’s symposium committee, led by Symposium Editor Razi Hashmi, featured three dynamic panels that delved into the core challenges facing democracies worldwide: election access, election trust, and election security. These discussions offered insightful perspectives from election commissioners, media representatives, academics, civil society experts, and activists from multilateral institutions like the Organization of American States (OAS) and others.
The first panel tackled critical barriers to voting, such as registration, literacy, and language, alongside strategies for ensuring equal participation. Panelists like Irena Hadžiabdić from the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gerardo de Icaza of the OAS, and Sy Mamabolo of the Electoral Commission of South Africa shared their experiences and highlighted the necessity of convenient access and trust in institutional systems.
The panel on election trust further explored how transparency, fairness, and institutional integrity shape public confidence and prevent democratic backsliding, featuring experts such as Mai El-Sadany of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, Annika Silva-Leander of International IDEA, Rana Ayyub of The Washington Post, and Dean Rosa Celorio of GW Law. These discussions, moderated by former Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State Peter Romero, emphasized the importance of rights, the rule of law, and participation in fostering trust.
The concluding panel on election security, moderated by Sabrina Siddiqui from the Wall Street Journal, included panelists Sebastian Bay of International IDEA, David Levine of University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, and Lisa Poggiali of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). The panel addressed hybrid threats, hack-and-leak operations, and the need to future-proof democracies through digital literacy and resilience against the weaponization of AI.
