Democracy Local

Gonzales Youth Council members, past and present. Photo by Joe Mathews
GONZALES
COLUMN The Best City Council Never Grows Up
A Small Town's Powerful Youth Council Turns 10—And Opens a $28 Million Center
Jamaima Afridi for Asia Democracy Chronicles, courtesy Asia Democracy Chronicles. (Jamaima is also that story's author)
Welcome to Democracy Local
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SACRAMENTO
COLUMN Why Democracy Needs Bureaucracy
Why Deliberative Processes Must Get Dirty
Photo by Edward Watts
ROME
ZÓCALO When the World's Most Powerful Republic Attacked Its Citizens
A Vengeful Leader Shocked Romans By Using Their Own Army Against Them
Banner image by Asia Democracy Chronicles
BHOPAL
ASIA DEMOCRACY CHRONICLES Bhopal's Neverending Toxic Tale
40 Years After Union Carbide Caused Thousands of Death, Facility Still Poses Health Risks
ANKARA
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS BRUNO KAUFMANN? Ankara and Denizli
2 Turkish Cities Are Models of Local Democracy in an Authoritarian Nation
SIEGBURG
EVENT Digitalization and Democracy
An event at a German city hall looks at how we shape digital democracy.
BEIJING
LOCAL SNAPSHOT The Hotel Where You Will Never Stay
The Jingxi Is for Communist Party Gatherings Only.
KARAJ, IRAN
ASIA DEMOCRACY CHRONICLES Anywhere But Home
Iran Deports Afghans, Including Ethnic MInorities, to a Homeland Where They Never Felt Safe
SINGU TOWNSHIP
ASIA DEMOCRACY CHRONICLES Cut Off But Still Connected—For Now
As Myanmar Continues Digital Repression, Starlink Is the Only Lifeline
Image by Google Gemini
READINGS
NATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW Crisis of Confidence in Public Problem-Solving
And the Role of AI, And What It Means for Local Democracy
MEXICO CITY
COLUMN All Human Rights Are Local
As Nations Trample Rights, Cities Enshrine New Ones