The CSI Department of Political Science and Global Affairs has recently welcomed visiting Fulbright Scholar Susana Sanz Caballero to its faculty. Sanz Caballero’s impressive credentials include Full Professor of Public International Law at Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera (Spain), Jean Monnet Chair of the European Commission, and Ad Hoc Judge of the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg).

During her six-month stay at CSI, Sanz Caballero will conduct a “Comparative Study of the Decline of the Rule of Law in the EU (European Union) and the U.S. and Possible Ways Out,” with a focus on the increasing trend toward oligarchy and right-wing populism in those regions.

Commenting on how she feels to be a Fulbright Scholar researching at CSI, Sanz Caballero said, “Conducting research at CSI is an honor, a pleasure, and a wonderful opportunity for me. CUNY is the largest urban campus in the U.S., and CSI is a leading institution in the field of social sciences, so being involved in its dynamic and enriching academic and extracurricular life this semester is truly exciting.”

According to Sanz Caballero, it was the suggestion of CSI Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs Jane Marcus-Delgado that led to her scholarly visit to CSI. She and Marcus-Delgado met during the pandemic and co-organized a successful collaborative online learning project with their students. Once the pandemic ended, Marcus-Delgado visited Sanz Caballero’s university in Valencia, Spain where she delivered lectures, and further cemented their collaboration and friendship due, in part, to a shared interest in the topics of democratization and its decline.   

“I’m truly grateful to Professor Marcus-Delgado,” Sanz Caballero noted, “as it was her suggestion that I apply for a Fulbright. I had always dreamed of obtaining a Fulbright scholarship but never had the courage to apply. Professor Marcus-Delgado shared her own experience as a Fulbright in Ecuador and encouraged me to pursue it. Her enthusiasm and insights were incredibly inspiring. I’m very happy I took her advice because I truly wanted to work with her and be part of CSI, alongside Chair of the CSI Department of Political Science and Global Affairs Professor Michael Paris, who is an expert in constitutional law and equality law—two topics of particular interest to me right now. I’m thrilled to join the CSI community, participate in its activities, and contribute to organizing and engaging in them. I truly feel I am in the right place at the right time.”

Marcus-Delgado pointed out that this Fulbright is extremely prestigious because only approximately ten people in the European Union have received this award. “Susana,” she added, “brings to our campus a perspective that is unique, and critically important to understanding of Europe and international relations. She is a very well-respected scholar, educator, judge, and lawyer. I could not be happier than I am to have her with us. And I know she will make a great contribution to our academic endeavors while she is here.

When asked why she selected her research topic, Sanz Caballero said, “The topic came naturally to me. Over the last five years, I’ve led a research project in Europe with 15 researchers from six different EU countries, focusing on rule of law backsliding in Europe. We’ve already published three books on this issue in 2020, 2022, and 2023 and organized various scientific events addressing this growing problem on my continent. For years, we believed that once a country democratized, it would never regress. We were naive, and the EU didn’t initially set up a solid and comprehensive mechanism to address rogue states within the Union.”

The decline of the rule of law,” she continued, “began in the 2010s in Eastern European countries, which had very little time to transition from communist totalitarianism to democracy. However, after the global financial crisis, austerity measures, the rise of populism, and the pandemic, the decline in the rule of law accelerated. Attacks on freedom of expression and media freedom, on our checks and balances, and on judicial independence are on the rise. Rule of law decline is contagious. What started in one specific EU member state has now spread to others, including founding members.”

In this study, Sanz Caballero will compare the situation in Europe to that of the U.S., relying, to a large extent, on news reports.

“I do see similarities between both continents in aspects of the political and legal landscape related to rule of law decay, such as arbitrary pardons, attacks on judges and prosecutors, persecution of journalists, and disinformation,” she noted. “When I applied for the scholarship, we didn’t know the outcome of the U.S. elections, so it will be fascinating to compare the Biden and Trump administrations. However, I’m still new to the U.S. context, and the elements of the rule of law that describe the EU situation (like judicial independence, media freedom, freedom of expression, strong checks and balances, and anti-corruption measures) might not apply here. I look forward to discussing this with expert colleagues at CSI.”

During her time at the College, Sanz Caballero intends to conduct desk research as well as interviews with expert colleagues and visit research centers and think tanks that study issues related to democracy. She eventually hopes to present her preliminary findings at conferences and will publish her final results in scholarly journals in both the EU and the U.S. She will also share those results with CSI students, and she plans to give a presentation on her EU research through the Center for Global Engagement.

By Terry Mares