From Citizens United to Oligarchy

Fiona Hill

Senior Fellow – Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe
Brookings Institution

In conversation with:

Natasha Lebedeva

JRN '94, Senior Director for International Affairs at NBC News

6pm: Social (hors d'oeuvres, cash bar)
6:45pm: Family-Style Dinner
7:30 pm: Conversation and Q&A

An oligarchy is a form of government where power is concentrated in the hands of a small group of people. This elite group, often drawn from a specific social class, wealth bracket, or family lineage, exercises control over the political, economic, and social systems of a nation or organization. Their decisions and actions primarily benefit their own interests, even if it comes at the expense of the wider population. There is indisputable evidence that such dynamics have subverted US democracy in the past decade or so.

The slow slide of the US toward oligarchy arguably reached its Event Horizon after the passage of Citizens United vs FEC decision by the Supreme Court in 2010. In the years since, this decision has manifested through massive campaign donations, influential Super PACs, overriding lobbying efforts, and overwhelming control over traditional and social media.

Offering her unparalleled and unique perspective on civil and governmental institutions in countries run by oligarchies, Fiona Hill will discuss how oligarchies are born and how they operate. Whether they are overtly run with a formal structure and clear lines of authority, or have more subtle and indirect power structure exerted through networks of connections, financial influence, or control over key institutions like media and education, Fiona will share an urgent warning with us on how oligarchies stifle dissent, limit individual freedoms, and perpetuate inequality.

Time will be allocated for audience questions.  We hope to see you there!

Fiona Hill is a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe within the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. She also holds the prestigious position of chancellor at Durham University in the United Kingdom and was recently elected to the Harvard University Board of Overseers.

Hill served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the U.S. National Security Council from 2017 to 2019, as well as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the U.S. National Intelligence Council from 2006 to 2009.

Prior to joining Brookings in 2000, Hill was director of strategic planning at the Eurasia Foundation in Washington, D.C. From 1991 to 1999, she held a number of positions directing technical assistance and research projects at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, including associate director of the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, director of the Project on Ethnic Conflict in the Former Soviet Union, and coordinator of the Trilateral Study on Japanese-Russian-U.S. Relations.

At Brookings she directed the Center on the United States and Europe from 2009 to 2017. Hill has researched and published extensively on issues related to Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, regional conflicts, energy, and strategic issues. In spring 2023, Hill was a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin, where she researched the link between deindustrialization and political populism in formerly heavy industrial regions of Germany as a follow-up to her most recent book.

Hill holds a master’s in Soviet studies and a doctorate in history from Harvard University where she was a Frank Knox Fellow. She also holds a master’s in Russian and modern history from St. Andrews University in Scotland, and has pursued studies at Moscow’s Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages. Hill’s Reith Lecture on “Freedom from Fear” for the BBC was broadcast in December 2022 to an audience of over 200 million people worldwide. That same month, Hill was awarded the Insignia of Knight First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland. In May 2023, Hill gave the annual Lennart Meri Lecture in Tallinn, Estonia, on “Ukraine in the New World Disorder.” In December 2023, Hill was recognized by the United Kingdom as a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for services to international relations.

Natasha Lebedeva is based in Washington DC and responsible for NBC News special big international news projects, coverage of international breaking news, exclusive interviews with world leaders, maintaining relationships with foreign governments, and access to foreign countries. She serves as a liaison between NBC and foreign countries where NBC pursues news coverage. Lebedeva personally handles NBC’s access and relations with Russia, North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Germany, France, and the Vatican among others.

Prior to her NBC career, Lebedeva was a producer for CNN, reporter for Newsweek magazine (with byline stories) and a producer for PBS program ‘Charlie Rose’. Lebedeva was a producer for a number of documentaries that aired on PBS, Discovery channel, National Geographic, also at the Library of Congress and Stanford University. Lebedeva is a recipient of prestigious journalistic awards for her achievements in news coverage. She was awarded several Emmy Awards; International Press Club Award; National Headliner Award; Alfred I. DuPont - Columbia Award, The Columbia Journalism School Alumni Award.

She is a participant at the Davos Economic Forum, Munich Security Conference, Halifax International Security Forum, Aspen Security Forum, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh, G-20 and G-7 meetings, as well as NATO and UNGA meetings. She speaks four languages.

Natasha Lebedeva is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Journalism. Natasha also holds a Master's degree with Honors in Structural, Applied and Mathematical Linguistics from St. Petersburg University (St. Petersburg, Russia). She currently serves as a Co-President of Columbia University Alumni Club of Washington DC, and as a Board of Directors member at Columbia Alumni Association. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, member of the Foreign Policy Discussion Group, and an advisor to the Global Kids Organization.