In an interview with The Maroon, Center for Effective Government (CEG) Democracy Fellow Nicole Bibbins Sedaca shared advice for students looking to pursue a career in international affairs and spoke about her role at the Washington, D.C.–based advocacy organization Freedom House.
CEG is a division of the Harris School focusing on civil reform and advocacy. Over the course of February, Sedaca met with students at the Harris School of Public Policy and the College to discuss her work and insights.
Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. The conversation took place before the Russian elections.
Chicago Maroon: Could you describe your day job and new role at the CEG?
Nicole Bibbins Sedaca: I am a Democracy Fellow at the Center for Effective Government. In my day job, I’m the executive vice president of an organization called Freedom House. At Freedom House, my role is to oversee all of our programs and strategy. [Freedom House] is focused on expanding and defending freedom around the world by informing the world about the problems that exist with democracy and freedom and the opportunities [for] mobilizing actors to really get engaged in the fight for freedom, and then supporting activists around the world. And so I’m delighted to have this time as a fellow to both speak with students about what’s going on in global freedom, but also look for opportunities to partner with the University in this area.
CM: Could you share some impressions of your experiences at the Harris School?
NBS: I was delighted to have some really great conversations yesterday and today. The students are phenomenally engaged and interested and eager to learn and also share their views. They came with lots of great questions and conversations. Because all of our conversations have been focused on democracy around the world, I think there’s a lot of hunger and interest among students, particularly some of the international students, and obviously the American students, to talk about what does this year mean, where many countries are going to elections, but also where a lot of countries are facing backsliding in their democracy. So we wrestled with some really hard questions that are on the minds of students.
CM: What are some elections you’re paying attention to this year?
NBS: So I’m very focused on the Indian elections, which is a parliamentary election coming up in April and May. Mexico will also have an election and their current president is term limited. So [Mexico] will unquestionably have a new president come June. [We’re] also watching the South African elections that will take place later this year. We know that there are a number of elections that are coming up in Russia and Venezuela, for example, which we don’t expect to be free and fair, and don’t expect to reflect the will of the people. But it’s notable that they are feeling the crunch to actually pretend that they’re a democracy, even though the leaders are not governing that way.
CM: What are some of the ways in which you think the CEG’s work advances some of the causes you’ve worked on at Freedom House?
NBS: I admire the work that the CEG is doing with their series on primers about democracy. It’s really excellent. And it is providing some very practical and research-based information about some of the questions about how democracy works that’s going to be important. And my organization works [both] in the US as well as around the world. And so for us, to see what scholars are saying specifically about the technicalities of how democracy works, it’s going to be a really wonderful way for us to stay connected with what academia is thinking.
CM: How would you assess the state of democracy in the world today?
NBS: There are things that make us concerned and things that make us optimistic. So in the category of concerned, we are seeing our 17th year of decline in freedom around the world, which means, according to our reports, there are more countries that have been going backwards in their democratic development than there are countries that are moving forward in how their citizens are experiencing political and civil rights. And so it’s concerning because that just means that there are unquestionably more attacks on freedom around the world, from authoritarian governments, but also some democracies that are weakening. So that’s certainly what’s on our mind most days.
But there’s a lot that gives us a lot of hope as well, despite the fact that we’re in a very difficult period. We see activists around the world that, despite the real physical, emotional, and political battles that they face, they’re in the streets demanding their rights. And whether that is in Venezuela or Sudan or Ethiopia or Iran, they are demanding the rights which we all hope everyone will be able to experience. The fact that in this year of elections, there are dictators and undemocratic leaders who still feel that they need to hold an election tells us that the norm of elections, the norm of democracy—just the fact that it is valued—carries some weight. And that matters because it means that this concept of “democracy is the best governing system to represent the voice of the people” has not been lost. It’s unquestionably challenged, but it by no means has been lost.
CM: Could you discuss how your work at Freedom House contributes to the promotion of democracy?
NBS: Yeah, absolutely. Our work really starts with raising awareness of where the challenges are, because it’s important that we have shared facts and shared truths about the challenges. So a lot of what we do is raise our voice through speaking through our events, through reports, and through our research to let the world know where we see challenges and where we see authoritarian leaders using tactics like transnational repression to silence the voices of others. But we do really look to mobilize action to push the US government, to push the United Nations, and to push other democratic governments to use their power to pressure or to reinforce democracy around the world. And finally, we know that the real courageous people are not those of us sitting in Washington [D.C.] but those who are in the streets, who are in the prisons, who are around the world pushing for change. And so we have looked for ways to listen to what those needs are and be able to respond to those by providing assistance, by providing training, and being a support to those who are really on the frontlines of fighting for freedom.
CM: What advice do you have for students or young professionals who are interested in a career in international affairs?
NBS: I hope that many students will pursue a career in international affairs. It’s an exciting way to serve your country and serve your world. I encourage students to look for opportunities both in the classroom and through their research to really dig into what the toughest challenges are to look at ways that you can build your expertise in these issues. But also look for opportunities, particularly overseas, whether that is through the US government—they have a lot of overseas opportunities through nongovernmental organizations like Freedom House—or other organizations. And there’s a lot of service organizations, whether that’s through faith-based groups or through other opportunities that people have to really get out and see the world, see what the challenges are. I think it’s really important that we have great people in public service, who are willing to bring the values of democracy into the public arena. But when we also look at philanthropic organizations and nongovernmental organizations, that’s also a great way to serve. That said, in every sector, whether you go into the business sector, whether you go into journalism, whether you go into a nonprofit, democracy issues cut through all of them. And so people have the opportunity to think about how they’re going to engage whatever next steps they have in their professional career with the values of democracy in those arenas.
CM: Are there any opportunities you would recommend to students today?
NBS: I pursued a rotary fellowship, and I can’t speak highly enough about it. It was a wonderful opportunity. I would encourage students to look that up. There are many other opportunities like the Fulbright, and others, which allow students to go overseas. The Peace Corps is a path that a lot of colleagues and friends of mine have also taken to look for opportunities to serve overseas for a number of years. So I would encourage students to look at all of those after they graduate as ways to get out to serve and to see the world.
CM: Do you have any advice regarding graduate school, particularly in light of Harris’s new five-year track?
NBS: I think the five-year programs are excellent. And obviously the University of Chicago is just an extraordinary school. And I think that a five-year program is a wonderful opportunity to do both degrees in a shorter period of time. I think if someone chooses just a four-year track, I would also encourage them to go out in the world for a couple years before they choose a graduate school. I think it is helpful. If you don’t have an opportunity for a five-year program directly after your undergrad, spend a year, or even two or three, working somewhere, whether that’s in Washington [D.C.], in the policy community or overseas or elsewhere, and then decide what graduate school looks like. I think that’s a period which, as a former professor, I saw a lot of students use that time to sort of refine their thinking, refine and test some of their assumptions of what they were interested in doing in the long term.
CM: Are there any opportunities at Freedom House you want students to be aware of?
NBS: Absolutely, we have a summer internship program on our website, freedomhouse.org, and would encourage anyone to apply. We would love to have great students like you, [and other] Chicago students here. And also, when you get out of school, there are a lot of jobs that are for new graduates and entry-level roles that are doing anything from researching the trends around the world, doing advocacy on Capitol Hill, or with the administration, programmatic work, which has you dealing with any number of countries, but also interesting fields like communications and development. Nonprofit organizations like ours need a whole range of skills. So we’d encourage students to really consider Freedom House as a possible place to land.
