Countries worldwide are experimenting with permanent citizen engagement in public decisionmaking. Could "ordinary citizens" become a new cornerstone of democracy?
The Trump administration’s Syria policy resembled a Rorschach inkblot—an ambiguous shape to which observers could ascribe their own preferred meaning.
The attacks of the president and his supporters need to be answered with a pragmatic stance and concrete solutions. It is what any citizen of one of the richest countries in the world has the right to expect.
The European Commission’s new president should act decisively to make deliberations in Brussels more accountable to voters and national parliaments.
Civic space—the fundamental freedoms that allow people to gather, communicate, and take part in groups to influence society and politics—is the bedrock of any democracy. But it is increasingly vulnerable.
Mass protests garner significant attention, but what happens next is just as vital for achieving real and lasting change.
As space for civil society continues to close, the international community must redouble its efforts to defend the right of civic activists to hold governments around the world accountable.
Facing a world in which the White House’s words have lost their weight, Americans will need to reckon with the consequences.
Political violence can’t be predicted perfectly, but there’s a clear risk pattern. Violence is more likely where it has happened before, and the United States has the tinder for political violence.
How the president chooses his words is how he governs. If the White House’s words have lost their meaning, does anyone care?