Evolve Democracy

06/13/2026

“Proponents say citizens assemblies surface genuine public opinion and generate creative solutions that politicians — constrained by loyalties and conflicts — might never reach. They build trust in public policymaking, and participants often report feeling more engaged in democracy, sometimes for the first time.”

Students at CUNY's Hunter College aim to cut campus waste through a citizens assembly, a democratic model that's gaining traction in New York.

05/24/2026

“Elected officials say civic assemblies offer them a more robust understanding of where the public stands on a complex local issue, while participants say these processes give them a sense of direct participation in governance – and an appreciation of how their communities can work together.

“It always seems to happen when you sit down at a table and bring lived experiences and solve a problem together – it’s like magic. This is a table apart from yelling, from politics as usual – it’s its own environment,” said Wayne Liebman, co-founder of Public Democracy LA, a non-profit that helped spark the city’s recent assembly.

“People know they’re in a special place – they’re in the democracy place. They’re going to be listened to. When people are treated that way, they step up.” “

US cities are turning to randomly selected residents to help resolve divisive policy debates

05/02/2026

Great discussion at Colombia University with Peter MacLeod and Helene Landemore this past week about the theory and practice of deliberative democracy!

04/25/2026

https://worldprojects.columbia.edu/events/fixing-our-democracies

Event details room The Forum at Columbia University (The Foyer, second floor) 601 West 125th Street New York, NY 10027 help Reserve a spot Register share Share on social media FacebookTwitter As trust in institutions declines and governance grapples with an increasingly complex society, citizens’ ...

04/25/2026

This Monday at Columbia University on 125th street. See you there!

https://worldprojects.columbia.edu/events/fixing-our-democracies

04/25/2026

“This book explains how electoral “democracy” is inherently undemocratic—enshrining rule by elites rather than popular self-rule—and argues that sortition (the use of random selection to form genuinely representative deliberative bodies) is a superior democratic alternative.”
Free ebook/pdf !

This book explains how electoral “democracy” is inherently undemocratic—enshrining rule by elites rather than popular self-rule—and argues that sortition (the

04/14/2026

Helene Landemore’s Book of the Year ‘Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule’ gets discussed on WBUR’s program On Point

On Point news analyst Jack Beatty has been reading “Politics without Politicians” by political theorist Hélène Landemore, in which she makes the case that randomly selected citizens can make for better government than elected politicians.

04/07/2026

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/opinion/political-power-citizens-assemblies.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

American democracy has a personality problem.