From Muzzaffarabad to a model law, these were among the most popular items we published this year.
Democracy Local launched quietly in early 2024. And we're still at the beginning of building this planetary publication, and a community around it. But we published more than 100 items from around the world—essays, reviews, photos, video and audio. Here are 10 of the best, and a representative sampling of where we are going in pursuit of our mission "to serve everyday people governing themselves."
A Beautiful and Enduring Story of Local Mutual Aid. How Barcelona made Sarajevo its 11th district during the 1990s siege—and why the cities still collaborate today.
Democracy Isn’t Declining. The Nation-State Is. Our obsession with measuring democracy at the national level is giving the world a distorted picture. Nation-states of all kinds—from the democratic to the autocratic—are faltering, unable to solve local or planetary problems. Democracy is doing just fine among local and sub-national governments, as they build capacity to fill the lack of nation-state leadership.
How the March Changed Us. In this major essay from Muzzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, journalist Adnan Yousaf offers a detail account and analysis of the protests and marches that forced Pakistan’s government to bend to local demands.
After the Mayor’s Death. The suicide of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon marked the scandalous ending to a life devoted to local democracy and participation. But in South Korea, his work and strategy endure.
You and Me and Local Democracy Against the World. Democracy Local’s most popular monthly newsletter of the year took us on a US election tour.
A Planetary Coalition of Locals to Tear the Fascists Down. From Washington to The Hague, there are signs of a global coalition of local entities to protect communities and people from authoritarianism and tyranny.
How to Achieve Local Autonomy. In a major essay, C.C. Marin, who leads the Independent California Institute, uses his home state to detail the steps that local and sub-national authorities can take to achieve greater autonomy, and control, from nations.
I Wrote A Model Law and I Need Your Helpw and I Need Your Help. Democracy Local and allies drafted a model local law, for communities worldwide, to make it easier to call and pay for citizens assemblies. Your suggestions, criticisms and edits are welcome.
Book Reviews. Democracy Local began its regular book reviews, with terrific new tomes from Marjan Ehsassi and Andreas Gross.
BONUS: The Event of the Year. Democracy Local and the Berggruen Institute brought together leaders and democracy practitioners from Bogota and Barcelona together to compare, and learn from, these two cities that excel at local democracy.
