The recent assassination of Charlie Kirk marks another alarming episode in the ongoing rise of political violence in the United States. Scholars of political science have long argued that when political institutions are perceived as unresponsive, citizens may channel their grievances into support for violence. The polarized reactions to this event, which quickly split along familiar partisan lines, highlight the fragility of democratic discourse in moments of crisis. In his talk, Professor Jens David Ohlin, the current Dean of the Cornell Law school, will explore how political violence, from assassinations to potential mass unrest, interacts with the health of democracy. What does the assassination of political figures mean for the legitimacy and resilience of democratic institutions? How should political leaders respond in order to de-escalate rather than deepen polarization? And what lessons can be drawn from both US and global contexts about the relationship between violence and democratic survival?