Informing and engaging citizens
When Americans believe in redistribution and the right to a job, they’re more likely to vote Democrat
The concept of democracy often means different things to different people. But are there elements on which people can agree or disagree? Judd R. Thornton and Kris Dunn examine the relationship between US citizens’ beliefs about democracy and how they vote. They find that while most people believe that free elections and protecting civil rights are […]
The secret of better government? Citizens who complain
Citizens are becoming more sceptical and critical of their governments. Chris Welzel and Russell Dalton examine whether this phenomenon is good or bad for democratic stability by looking at the relationship between assertive and allegiant citizen norms and effective governance. They challenge the Burkean view that good government requires an obedient citizenry to function properly. Assertive citizens […]
Breaking with the past: how voting reform could reinvigorate Australian politics
Spoiled ballot papers and the lowest turnout since voting became compulsory in 1925: young Australians are increasingly disillusioned with traditional politics, and with the two main parties in particular. Adele Lausberg says it is time to overhaul the way the House of Representatives is elected to give smaller parties more of a voice. Both the House […]
Votes at 16: do mock elections make a difference to adults’ attitudes?
Mock elections help 16- and 17-year-olds understand how elections work. But do they make adults more likely to back lowering the voting age to 16? Erik Gahner Larsen, Klaus Levinsen and Ulrik Kjær looked at the 2009 local elections in Denmark, when a number of municipalities held mock elections alongside the real ones. They found that they […]
How No Child Left Behind encourages better-off parents to flee poorly-performing schools
For a democracy to function properly, its citizens need to be informed. In order to encourage this and make providers more accountable, the US has implemented performance accountability measures for public and private goods and services. In new research, John B. Holbein examines the effects of the No Child Left Behind policy, which gives citizens information […]
‘Citizen of the world’? Think again: British citizenship after Brexit
National identity is fundamental to citizenship, Theresa May told Conservatives in October, and self-styled ‘citizens of the world’ are deluding themselves. Matthew Grant traces how British citizenship has been endlessly redefined for political purposes since the second world war – first becoming associated with whiteness, and now with the non-European. The scope of what constitutes ‘belonging’ is shrinking. […]
Thinking harder: how we could do referendums differently
A single vote will take us out of the EU, quite possibly without Parliament’s explicit consent. Davina Cooper asks whether a referendum based purely on individual Leave/Remain votes was the best we can do – or whether a more deliberative system, which would demand more engagement from the public, could produce a more considered outcome. Similar PostsThe case […]
Why do some local authorities have such poor websites? Insights from Sweden
Some Swedish local authorities have embraced online services and forms of digital democracy. Others have been slow to take up the opportunity. Gustav Lidén rates the country’s 290 municipalities according to the depth of their digital engagement, and looks at the possible factors influencing it. Lack of enthusiasm from senior politicians and bureaucratic inertia are key […]
We need to talk about our democracy
Recent days have seen ferocious attacks against the roles of both judges and parliamentarians in our democratic system. Alan Renwick and Meg Russell write that this assault is just the latest in a series of signs that the quality of our democracy is under threat. They argue for concerted efforts to defend that democracy: pushing back […]
Xenophobic violence after Brexit: how Britain could learn from Germany’s experience
Germany has experienced a rise in xenophobic attacks since it began to welcome refugees from Syria and elsewhere. Sebastian Jäckle and Pascal D. König have mapped these attacks and drawn some striking conclusions about their causes. They were more common in regions with a strong far-right presence and fewer migrants. One attack also tended to spark others – as […]
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