Widespread civic duty has emerged as a last bastion against democratic backsliding. Why do some citizens feel a duty to vote, take up arms, and otherwise sacrifice for their democracies? Hur shows that the sense of obligation to be a good citizen is rooted in a force long thought to be detrimental to democracy’s potential, especially in East Asia: strong national attachments.

Aram Hur is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Missouri. She also serves as Co-Director of the MU Institute for Korean Studies. Dr. Hur’s research focuses on national politics and democracy, with particular focus on issues of identity change, integration, and democratic support in East Asia. She is the author of Narratives of Civic Duty: How National Stories Shape Democracy in Asia (Cornell University Press, 2022). Her work is published in leading academic journals such as the British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Politics, and Journal of East Asian Studies, and cited in media outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Foreign Policy.

This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science, the Program in International Studies, and the SNF Agora Institute.