Shanthi Kalathil - Tech for Democracy

Shanthi Kalathil is Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Democracy and Human Rights on the National Security Council in the US. She coordinates democracy policy and oversees the work of the democracy and human rights directorate.

Most recently, Shanthi Kalathil was Senior Director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. She has served as a fellow or associate with the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, and has consulted for the World Bank and other international organizations.

Shanthi Kalathil has authored and edited numerous publications, including Diplomacy, Development and Security in the Information Age (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, 2013), Developing Independent Media as an Institution of Accountable Governance (The World Bank, 2008), and (with Taylor C. Boas) Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2003).

Her shorter essays and op-eds have appeared in Foreign Policy, the Journal of Democracy, the Wall Street Journal Asia, and other outlets. Kalathil holds a bachelor’s degree from U.C. Berkeley and a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Speaking events

Listen to Shanthi Kalathil speak at the conference

18 Nov4:04 pm - 4:20 pm

Session 5: How do we make change and inspire action?

Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen

In this session, we focus on the need for action and demonstrate how to “walk the walk and talk the talk”. What initiatives, partnerships and actions can bring about real change to make tech work for democracy and human rights? The two central pillars of the Tech for Democracy initiative, the Copenhagen Pledge, and Action Coalitions will be presented to guide and inspire action. Other initiatives and partners will present their visions and actions with the aim of inspiring further action and displaying how the Tech for Democracy initiative complements existing efforts.