Stories

MOSI
COLUMN The Local Assembly Beautiful Enough to Run a Nation
The Kgotla Mixes Democracy, Culture, and Technocracy to Govern Botswana
Germany
The People’s Candidate
The United Nations is choosing its next Secretary-General at perhaps the most precarious moment in its history. The process tells us something uncomfortable about the institution the successful candidate will inherit: the UN has...
This is republished from the National Civic League. Photo via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0
USA
NATIONAL CIVIC LEAGUE: We've Gotta Stop Meeting Like This
A Colorado city pilots a new way of gathering.
Photo credit: Todd Gloria on Instagram
COLUMN
Why Legislators Don't Make Great Mayors
The trouble with leaders in LA, San Diego, and elsewhere
Photo by Arsenie Coseac, via Flickr CC BY-ND 2.0
Global
FUTURE OF WHERE: Will People Move Away From Risky Areas? Should We Help?
A new approach to the question of leaving, or staying, post-disaster
Photo by Joe Mathews
Global
LA TIMES: Can Fire Cities Govern Together?
Mutual aid is great. Joint work on new strategies and tools for preventing fires would be better.
Photo source: US Fish and Wildlife Service, Creative Commons License 2.0
USA
COLUMN: This Little Fish Speaks Volumes About Governance
The California Delta smelt is being scapegoated by Trump and farmers. Here's what the nearly extinct fish...
A Florida Fish and Wildlife officer helps to evacuate a flooded Florida neighborhood in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024. Florida Fish and Wildlife photo from their Flickr account. Image has been cropped and brightened. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Mexico
ZÓCALO: Letters from Local Disasters
Reflecting on the lessons of emergencies in Mexico City, Islamabad, and Hendersonville
Illustration from Asia Democracy Chronicles
India
ASIA DEMOCRACY CHRONICLES: Meet the Solar Sisters
Women light up villages and irrigate fields with solar gadgets they make and sell.
Photo by Tanka Dhakal
Nepal
ASIA DEMOCRACY CHRONICLES: Local Government Cleans Everest's Excrement
How the world's highest rural municipality solves a poopy problem
Public domain, by Matthew Brady, U.S. Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons
California
COLUMN: This Dead Senator Can Stop Trump
John Conness was an Irish immigrant who stood up for citizenship and human rights. His words still matter.
Via People Powered
India
VIDEO: 5 Ways That Locals Can Govern on Climate Change
In Uttarakhand in the Himalaya, local communities tackle climate change, a People Powered video shows..