Democracy needs 'heroic citizens' to defy autocracy, says scholar | Unpublished
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Peter Biro's picture
Toronto, Ontario
About the author

Peter L. Biro is the founder of democracy and civics think-tank, Section 1.  He is a Senior Fellow of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, the Aristotle Foundation and Massey College, Professional Associate at the UBC Research Group on Constitutional Law and Legal Studies, Chair Emeritus of the Jane Goodall Institute, and Adjunct Professor in the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law, University of Toronto where he teaches constitutional law. Peter has published extensively on matters of law and politics.  His latest book is Imperfect Ideal: Essays on Liberal Democracy in the Real World (forthcoming from Dundurn Press).

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Democracy needs 'heroic citizens' to defy autocracy, says scholar

May 19, 2026

There are just three ingredients in the recipe that could end constitutional democracy as we know it, says scholar Peter L. Biro — fear, habituation and what he calls 'stupidification.' He argues that we, as law-abiding average citizens, have the power to save our democracy and defend against backsliding forces. Biro recently delivered a keynote address at the ominously titled conference, Liberal Democracy in the Rearview Mirror? at Massey College in Toronto.



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May 19, 2026