AUBURN, ME — The Camden Conference was founded in 1987 as a nonprofit, non-partisan educational organization whose mission is to foster informed discourse on world issues. Each year, they host a conference, with participating libraries offering community events related to their theme. The 38th annual Camden Conference, scheduled for February 21-23, 2025, is entitled “Democracy Under Threat: A Global Perspective.” It will be both a live and virtual event. In person, it will be hosted in Maine at the Camden Opera House; live-streamed to the Strand Theatre in Rockland and the Lunt Auditorium in Falmouth; and available virtually to homes and classrooms worldwide.

This year’s topic focuses on democracies worldwide, which are under intense pressure from populist and nationalist movements. These movements threaten individual freedoms and strain international relations. The Conference will look at the challenges to democracies around the world and explore solutions to strengthen democratic systems.

The Auburn Public Library is pleased to participate as one of the hosting libraries. Leading up to this year’s Conference, APL has three events planned.

FILM SCREENING & DISCUSSION —

BEYOND ELECTIONS: REDEFINING DEMOCRACY IN THE AMERICAS

Thursday, January 16, 2025 — 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Androscoggin Community Room

On Thursday, January 16, the Auburn Public Library invites you to a screening and discussion of the documentary Beyond Elections: Redefining Democracy in the Americas.

This film takes a deep look at democracy. According to film director Michael Fox:

“… Following decades of US-backed dictatorships, civil wars, and devastating structural adjustment policies in the South, and corporate control, electoral corruption, and fraud in the North, representative politics in the Americas is in crisis. Citizens are now choosing to redefine democracy under their own terms: local, direct, and participatory.”

“Beyond Elections is a journey that takes us across the Americas to attempt to answer one of the most important questions of our time: What is Democracy?”

Following the screening, attendees are invited to remain for a brief discussion of the film.

This program will take place in the Androscoggin Community Room starting at 3:00 p.m.

ELECTIONS, POPULISM, AND DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING IN THE AMERICAS

Dr. Clarisa Pérez-Armendáriz, Associate Professor of Politics and Chair of the Latin American and Latinx Studies Program, Bates College

Monday, January 27, 2025 — 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Androscoggin Community Room

On Monday, January 27, 2025, the Auburn Public Library will welcome Dr. Clarisa Pérez-Armendáriz, Associate Professor of Politics and Chair of the Latin American and Latinx Studies Program at Bates College. Dr. Pérez-Armendáriz will be at the Library to talk about Elections, Populism, and Democratic Backsliding in the Americas.

Democratic backsliding is the process of political change in which countries that enjoy a certain level of democracy become significantly less democratic. Countries across the Americas–a continent of which the United States is part–have experienced significant democratic backsliding over the 21st century. What explains this recent wave of democratic erosion? More specifically why has democratic backsliding occurred under the leadership of freely elected governments? Drawing on the experiences of Mexico and countries in Central and Latin America, Professor Pérez-Armendáriz highlights two pathways for democratic backsliding and suggests some opportunities and strategies for protecting this form of government.

Clarisa Pérez-Armendáriz is an Associate Professor of Politics and Chair of the Latin American and Latinx Studies Program at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Her research explores how international migrants influence politics in their countries of origin, particularly in the context of crime and violence. Her publications appear in Comparative Political Studies, Studies in

Comparative International Development, the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, and Comparative Migration Studies. At Bates College, she teaches Comparative Politics, Political Violence in Latin America, Latinx Politics, and Latin American Politics. Professor Pérez-Armendáriz completed her Ph.D. in Government at the University of Texas at Austin. She also has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government with an emphasis on International Security and a B.A. in International Relations from Pomona College. She served as a US Foreign Service officer in Mexico City and India from 1998-2002. She and her two daughters have been Auburn residents for nearly 15 years.

This program will take place in the Androscoggin Community Room beginning at 4:30 p.m.

BOOK DISCUSSION —

DEMOCRACY AWAKENING: NOTES ON THE STATE OF AMERICA

by Heather Cox Richardson

Thursday, February 13, 2025 – 4:00-5:00 p.m.

Conference Room

The final event leading up to the 38th Annual Camden Conference will be a discussion of the book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson.

A historian and author who was raised in Maine, Heather Cox Richardson is also the author of the popular daily newsletter, Letters from an American. In this book, she explains how America, once a beacon of democracy, now teeters on the brink of autocracy — and how we can turn back. (from book jacket)

This discussion will take place in person in the Conference Room on Thursday, February 13, 2025, from 4:00-5:00 p.m. Thanks to funding provided by the Camden Conference, free copies of the book are available to those who register, and books will be available for pickup on or after January 6.

To register for any of these events, please visit the Library website — www.auburnpubliclibrary.org — or call the Reference Desk at 207-333-6640, ext. 4.

For more details on the 2025 Camden Conference, including participating speakers, membership, or other pre-conference events, visit their website at camdenconference.org.