About
The program “The Future of Democracy” places its main focus on the prospects for comprehensive ecological democratization. The guiding rationale is that social transformations require a collective imaginary of a future worth striving for. It provides a resource for meaning that supports the inclination to generate volition. Such imaginaries also allow for the short and medium term acceptance of adverse conditions that are to be expected and also already noticeable with respect to the natural and socio-political effects of climate change. And they provide guidance for constructive propositions for institutional design that contemporary democracies require in order to re-integrate citizens and nature. To be effective, concrete propositions must carefully consider extant structures, just as corresponding imaginaries cannot merely be ‘invented’ but must draw from potentials that societies already harbor. Considering the scale of innovation required, this implies taking a broad view of what democracy comprises and, thus, what the resources for its future could be.
Conducive schemas for democracy’s overhaul may also germinate in practices distant from its institutional core – progressive social movements, the arts, and experimental practices can spur the democratic innovation. Taking a broad view also means considering which practices and structures still require democratization. Especially, the intertwinement of liberal democracy with the global economy calls for the reinvigoration of economic democracy. For instance, cooperative enterprises and the council republican tradition provide useful cues to further develop contemporary participatory democratic forms, such as lottocratic citizen councils. Such democratic innovations must also take humanity’s dependency relation on nature into account. The human species and the cultures that it has generated cannot be conceived as dichotomous to nature. Existing knowledge systems that feature non-hegemonic, alternative conceptions of the nature-human-culture trichotomy are of special interest here. They hold reconciliatory resources for aligning the political form with a responsible mode of co-habitation on this planet and achieving ecological, resilient democracy.
QUESTIONS
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Experimental Democracy
Which practices of progressive social movements could be taken to prefigure a promising democratic future? How can the democratic process incorporate a sensorium for experiential qualia to enter political reality and foster the potential for innovation? Can experimental formats, such as playful participation and the openness they induce, become institutionalized as problem-solving mechanisms? Or is the emancipatory potential of experimental practices better unleashed in extra-institutional domains of democratic resistance?
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Participatory and Economic Democracy
Which conceptual resources do the neglected history of worker cooperatives and their federalist visions provide for the democratization of the economic sphere? How could their radical democratic mechanisms of enhanced participation be innovatively combined with representation in the political context? Could such configurations also provide a bridge for developing participatory democratic forms, such as lottocratic citizen councils, beyond consultative functions? Could these, in turn, become vehicles for institutional design, introducing democratic reflexivity to constitutions along the axis of time and making them responsive to a rapidly changing world?
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Ecological Democracy
Which political means are legitimate to transition to a post-carbon society for democracy to survive? Is decarbonization sufficient to reconcile humankind with the complex political ecology of which it forms part? How must our conception of democracy change as we become increasingly aware of our embedding in complex relations with non-human entities that are no less affected by our political decisions? Which non-hegemonic existing knowledge systems can help us rethink these relations to foster mutual emancipation from alienation?
GET INVOLVED
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Information
For questions regarding the program please contact Anna Katsman at anna.katsman@thenew.insitute
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Art
Art
Raisa Galofre, El fuego vivo de la cumbia vive en nosotros (The vivid fire of Cumbia lives within us), from the series Daughters of the Muntu: A Pluriverse, 2015 – ongoing. Courtesy of the artist.
A candle melts in the hand of a woman during a procession, somewhere in the Colombian Caribbean region: The photographic series by Raisa Galofre Daughters of the Muntu offers a glimpse into the presence and stories of Muntu Americanas. This series presents a visual translation of these stories as constellations of interrelated beings. It is inspired by the storytelling by Manuel Zapata Olivella in his novel Changó, el Gran Putas and its foundations in the Muntu concept and Ubuntu worldview. Ubuntu, a Nguni Bantu term meaning "humanity“, is sometimes translated as "I am because we are" (also "I am because you are"), or "humanity towards others" (in Zulu, umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu). In Xhosa, the latter term is used, but is often meant in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity".
Latest
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essay
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interview
Achieving DemocracyOur fellow Vladimir Safatle on the revolutionary process of rewriting Chile’s dictatorship-era Constitution – and what it means for the rest of the world.
Vladimir Safatle | The Future of Democracy | The Challenge |
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analysis
The Spirit of this CenturyTobias Müller on Solidarity as Co-Liberation
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interview
The Problem with BlockchainOur program director Francesca Bria talks to Evgeny Morozov about how digital technology can be democratized.
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essay
On the BarricadesOur fellow Philip Manow explores the relationship between hyperglobalization and the heterogeneity of global protest movements.
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PAPER EDITION
On HopeHope is a promise, a contradiction, a quiet revolution.
Ece Temelkuran | Markus Gabriel | Lea Ypi | Jonathan White | Georg Diez | The Future of Democracy | The Human Condition in the 21st Century | Paper Edition vol.2 | Art |
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interview
Hope and FaithEce Temelkuran is a novelist and political commentator whose work explores issues that are controversial in Turkey, such as the Kurdish and Armenian struggles and freedom of expression.
Ece Temelkuran | The Future of Democracy | Paper Edition vol.2 |
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special
The German Election SpecialGermany has voted. Yet fundamental questions remain open.
Philip Manow | Jan-Werner Müller | Jonathan White | Lea Ypi | Christoph Möllers | The Future of Democracy |
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interview
The Voice of the PeopleDeliberative democracy is an innovative concept to redefine and reinvigorate the reality of citizenship in the 21st century...
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interview
Covid and DemocracyChristoph Möllers is Professor for Constitutional Law, Humboldt University Berlin, and Senior Advisor THE NEW INSTITUTE
Christoph Möllers | The Future of Democracy | Paper Edition vol.1 |
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interview
At the core of the idea of citizenship is the refugee: Homi Bhabha on Democracy for the 21st CenturyHomi Bhabha was the perfect person to talk to about the outcome of the U.S. election – a scholar of multiculturalism with a keen eye for...
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essay
The US presidential election points towards a multi-ethnic democracy – and its contradictionsJoe Biden is the new President-elect – and Democrats have long insisted that an increasingly multi-ethnic population will favor them in the long-run.
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We Live Under Minority Rule: Daniel Ziblatt on American Democracy
Daniel Ziblatt is sitting in his study in Newton, not far from the Harvard campus where he normally teaches as the Eaton Professor of the Science of Government...
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news
Applications welcome for the program “The Future of Democracy”THE NEW INSTITUTE is opening its second call for fellowships for the program “The Future of Democracy”...
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interview
Freedom and BetrayalLea Ypi has an academic mind and an activist heart. She aims for an “activist political theory”, as she states in her book on global justice.
2023/24
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Governing the Planetary Commons
How are the planetary commons to be governed in an ecologically responsible, just, democratic, and resilient way?
The program "Governing the Planetary Commons: a Focus on the Amazon" examines how to responsibly and sustainably govern crucial Earth systems, using the Amazon Rainforest as an example, and explores different governance models that could work in an ecologically sound, democratic, and resilient way. -
Depolarizing Public Debates
How can we depolarize public debates on socio-ecological transformations?
The aim of the program „Depolarizing Public Debates“ is to develop tools for reducing polarization in public discussions about socio-ecological issues, engaging with practitioners from journalism, digital platforms, and civil society. -
Conceptions of Human Flourishing
How does a non-materialist conception of human flourishing inform the reformulation of the SDGs in 2030?
The program „Conceptions of Human Flourishing” explores how different cultures conceive of human flourishing, how the current materialist approach may limit it, and how to redesign the SDGs with a broader, more inclusive view of what human flourishing means.
2021/22
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The Human Condition in the 21st Century
How can we create a sustainable value-system for the 21st century?
This foundational program asks what it means to be human in the 21st century and how to create a sustainable value system for our interconnected world. The program examines the relationships between humans and nature, freedom, morality, growth, animals, and technology, and seeks to turn insights from philosophy and social science into actionable projects. -
Socio-Economic Transformation
How can the economy serve social well-being within planetary boundaries?
Our economy must serve our social needs and respect planetary boundaries. But this is currently not the case: we are on an unsustainable path. Our economic activities have contributed to societies growing more unequal across various dimensions, depriving some of meeting their basic human needs and putting political systems under stress. -
The New Hanse Project
How can cities use data to become more democratic and sustainable?
The program “The New Hanse” investigates the relationship between urban digital infrastructures, data justice, and sustainability, supporting the city of Hamburg’s transformation towards climate neutrality with tangible data-driven pilot projects.