Achieving accountable government
Citizens can and should be involved in the process of shaping economic policy
Economics has long been tainted by the label ‘the dismal science’ and an image of grey haired old men poring over statistics, but could there ever be a ‘citizens economics’? Here, Reema Patel discusses a new RSA project which seeks to create just that, and an event which aims to contribute to its creation. Similar […]
Jean-Claude Juncker is wrong and dangerously out of touch to demand an immediate Brexit
The EU referendum has turned UK politics on its head, with one and possibly two party leaders being sacrificed, a new Prime Minister in the pipeline, Scotland’s leader seeking a second independence referendum, and even the question of Irish reunification back on the agenda. The President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker has suggested […]
The success of the European project rests on the ability to balance ‘hyper globalisation’, national sovereignty, and democracy
The Brexit referendum is upon us, with the contest on something of a knife-edge according to polling. Here, Simon Wren-Lewis looks at the way the debate interacts with notions of democracy, arguing that policymakers need to find acceptable arrangements that partially limit each element of the ‘trilemma’ which posits the impossibility of simultaneously enjoying national sovereignty, […]
How democratic is the UK’s participation in the European Union?
As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, Stuart Brown examines the extent to which the UK’s participation in European and international institutions affects the quality of UK democracy. Overall, while some positive reforms have taken place at the European level since 2012, the UK’s uncertain relationship with the European Union and a general lack of […]
Interview: Alon Peled on the Public Sector Information Exchange, avoiding disasters, and big data
Alon Peled is the man behind the Public Sector Information Exchange, a new digital tool which will allow citizens to access state agency data and compare it across different countries and continents. Last year, Sean Kippin spoke to Alon about both this project specifically and the potential for big data more generally. Part 1 of […]
Foreign Direct Investment flows to countries where the most prominent political parties are national, rather than regional
What is the relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and political party organisation? Joel W. Simmons, Allen Hicken, Ken Kollman and Irfan Nooruddin share evidence which shows that countries with a higher number of regionalised political parties will have more difficulty attracting FDI than those countries with national political parties in positions of greater prominence. Similar […]
Book Review: Smart Citizens, Smarter State: The Technologies of Expertise and the Future of Governing by Beth Simone Noveck
How can we increase public participation in governance? In Smart Citizens, Smarter State: The Technologies of Expertise and The Future of Governing, Beth Simone Noveckargues that institutions should develop new technologies of expertise in order to better utilise the skills and experiences of citizens. Zeynep Engin strongly recommends this book for those looking to understand how technological […]
Too many facts and not enough theories: the rhetoric of the referendum campaign
The campaign over the UK’s referendum on our continued membership of the European Union is entering its final stretch, with numerous facts, figures, and assertions being thrown around with wilful abandon. Here, Alan Finlayson argues that both campaigns in are build on thin theories which utterly fail to understand each other. Similar PostsA short handbook […]
Can we improve the quality of the referendum debate?
The Treasury Select Committee has said that the EU referendum debate ‘is being poorly served by inconsistent, unqualified and, in some cases, misleading claims and counter-claims’. Alan Renwick asks whether there is anything that can be done about this. He identifies a number of possible mechanisms for identifying falsehoods and enforcing truthfulness, but warns that there […]
Government buries its own research – and that’s bad for democracy
Government research can be highly valuable but is costly and time consuming. A new report indicates the government doesn’t keep systematic records of research, and may even delay reporting to avoid political embarrassment or to prevent informed public debate. Kathryn Oliver, who contributed to the study, offers an overview of the findings and their implications. Similar […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.