Feature
Reimagining Democracy 2026 Summer Reading List
Tova Wang, director of research projects in democratic practice at the Ash Center, shares her top picks for summer reads focused on making democracy more resilient, responsive, and inclusive.
Feature
Navigating Democracy’s Next Chapter at the “Founding Futures” Conference
Ash Center Fellow Jon Alexander joined a diverse group of speakers at TED Democracy Philadelphia to share bold ideas for revitalizing modern democracy.
What does the future of democracy look like? At “TED Democracy Philadelphia: Founding Futures,” Ash Center Democracy Fellow Jon Alexander joined researchers, activists, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders to examine democracy from multiple vantage points. The June 13 event took place at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, just a mile from where the Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago. Reflecting on this legacy, most speakers agreed that while the work of maintaining democracy requires constant effort, we are living through an especially difficult and polarizing period.
While the discussions spanned a range of issues, from artificial intelligence to community organizing, Alexander focused on active citizenship. He pointed to citizen-led assemblies as a vital pathway forward. These assemblies, which bring randomly selected everyday people together to solve local policy issues, are currently being tested in communities worldwide. As Alexander noted, they succeed because “all of us are smarter than any of us.”
Read the full article at The Pew Charitable Trusts: Exploring Democracy for America’s Next 250 Years.
Dana Guterman is a content strategist, writer, and editor with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
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