The Human Rights Foundation’s Tyranny Tracker is a qualitative index that classifies the world’s countries and territories as democratic, hybrid authoritarian, or fully authoritarian. This political regime assessment tool is now available to the public at a moment when tyranny is on the rise worldwide. According to HRF’s Tyranny Tracker, 75% of the world’s population lives under authoritarianism despite representing only 92 countries, or less than half of all countries in the world.

Professor Tom Ginsburg will engage with the HRF’s lead researchers Javier El-Hage, Mohamed Keita, Malaak Jamal, Pavel Kutsevol and Jenny Wang as they explain what sets the Tyranny Tracker apart from other indexes, and how readers can use the tool to inform their work.

• Javier El-Hage is HRF's chief legal and policy officer, where he co-leads the organization’s impact litigation and research programs. He teaches at Fordham Law School, and has several publications on international and comparative constitutional law.

• Mohamed Keita is a Senior Policy Officer and HRF's regional expert for Africa, overseeing HRF's research, advocacy and programs relating to Africa as well as the organization's sports program. Prior to HRF, he was the Africa program manager at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

• Malaak Jamal is HRF’s director of policy and research. She has a bachelor's degree in political science and a masters in diplomacy and international relations. Her opinions have been featured in TIME, The Washington Post, CNN, and the Journal of Democracy.

• Pavel Kutsevol is HRF’s policy officer for Europe and Central Asia, where he leads the region’s campaigns, projects, and outreach efforts. He has a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in international affairs with a focus on global security.

• Jenny Wang is a Senior Policy Officer at HRF, where she helps oversee the organization’s outreach, campaigns, and projects relating to the Asia-Pacific. She previously served as a nonpartisan U.S. Congressional staffer monitoring human rights issues in China.

This event is sponsored by The University of Chicago Law School's International Programs, The Malyi Center for the Study of Institutional and Legal Integrity, International Law Society, Human Rights Law Society, and The University of Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression (Lead support for the Chicago Forum’s Zell Speaker and Event Series comes from the Zell Family Foundation).

Lunch will be provided. Please submit dietary requests eight business days prior to the program to Aican Nguyen at aican@uchicago.edu. Although we will try to accommodate dietary needs, it is not guaranteed.