How do we know democracy is working?

Jefferson Center
Sep 5, 2018 · 4 min read

Not many organizations today can trace the core of their work back to 507 BCE. That’s when the first democracy was established in the city-state of Athens, with the goal of putting “ordinary citizens” at the heart of decision-making. Athenian democracy randomly-selected individuals to fill the few existing government, administrative, and judicial offices, to make key decisions.

At the Jefferson Center, the ideals of the original Athenian democracy continue drive our work today. We strongly believe in the power of individuals to tackle complicated issues, and we consistently see a marked change in people after participating in a Citizens Jury or other engagement processes. Once people are given the tools, time, and resources they need to be successful in democratic decision-making, many are inspired to continue creating change in their communities.

But over time, different factors have gotten in the way of democracy working as planned, including corporate interests, suppression of free speech, dissemination of fake news, silencing of the press, intense partisan polarization, and more. Many countries are struggling with these challenges in the 21st century, including both advanced and emerging democracies.

At the New York Times Athens Democracy Forum this September, we’ll work with journalists, international business leaders, policy makers, and attendees from across the globe to address these big issues. While we’re there, we also we want to consider, how do we know democracy is working around the world? That’s not to say we can’t continue to strengthen our democratic practices–but it does give us an exciting starting point.

As a starting point, we’ve highlighted a few of our recent projects as examples of successful democracy in action. If you’ve participated in or know about others, let us know below!

The success of Citizens Juries on Complicated Issues

One thing we believe at the Jefferson Center is that yes, everyday citizens can tackle complicated issues. We recently wrapped up a Citizens Jury in the Forest of Dean district in Gloucestershire, England, where a group of randomly selected residents were tasked with a difficult decision: to recommend the location of a new regional hospital, consolidating other local hospitals in the area. Forest hospitals have strong ties to the community and District residents take pride in the role of local residents founding the hospitals and their ongoing work to support them. Additionally, access to transit and travel times is sometimes difficult due to the landscape of the Forest. Tension was high months in advance of the jury, with many participants fielding differing thoughts from neighbors and family members about the best location for the new hospital among the three available options.

Although their recommendations would be critically evaluated by the NHS decision-makers and the public at-large no matter the result, this didn’t deter the jurors. One participant remarked she joined because she strongly believes “you can’t complain about something if you don’t know all the facts.” And, although there were strong opinions at the onset, jurors went into deliberations with an open mind and changed their preferences along the way. Another participant remarked that he changed his mind after realizing the “bigger picture,” something a direct democratic process provides jurors and the public. Forest residents’ willingness to participate in the process and seek out an informed decision makes us believe democracy is still working and can be used to resolve divisive issues.

Running for local office

Running for local office, or even getting involved at a local level, can be intimidating when you don’t have the time or resources to know the right procedures, timing, and locations. Last fall, we conducted the Minnesota Community Assembly Project, where groups of citizens in Red Wing and Willmar, Minnesota learned more about their local government, and gave recommendations on how it could be strengthened. The report was given to city council and their recommendations are already being implemented-but the impacts didn’t stop there.

This May, two participants of the community assembly announced their candidacy for city council (check out Erin and Christina’s interviews). Both remarked participating in the assembly provided a renewed sense of community, especially hope, as different people with varying worldviews were able to work together on local issues.

Local journalism efforts

In 2016, we heard from citizens across Ohio that coverage of national elections by their local papers were draining, negative, and didn’t provide readers with the chance to address these issues and policies encountered in a presidential election leaving some people feeling helpless and hopeless. After hearing from Ohio residents about what they wanted and needed from local media, we created Your Voice Ohio, a journalist collaborative that brings community members and local journalists together to discuss local coverage of issues.

We’ve hosted conversations across the state where reporting has already shifted due to our work on the ground. Journalists covering the opioid crisis have taken feedback from their community to focus their reporting on solutions and have stopped sharing images that may trigger people in recovery. Additionally, instead of merely stating how many overdoses occurred over the week, journalists are sitting down with people in recovery to share the story of an individual’s journey. Instead of providing only facts and figures, journalists are now providing readers with additional resources such as hotline numbers and references to upcoming community action meetings.

Both journalists and local residents are rethinking and retooling how journalism can strengthen their communities. By improving coverage of a critical public health issue through dialogue and engagement, they’re building a stronger and more trusting relationship between the press and the public — a cornerstone of a vibrant democracy.

These are just a handful of recent examples of democracy in action from our own work. We invite you to submit your own examples below and join our upcoming Twitter chat on Monday, September 10 at 11:00 am CT with the hashtag #DemocracyChat!

Jefferson Center

Showcasing the work of the Jefferson Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit partnering with citizens, communities, and institutions to design and implement informed, innovative, and democratic solutions to today’s toughest challenges.

Jefferson Center

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Designing the future of democracy by unleashing creative citizen-driven ideas. Find us @ jefferson-center.org & @jeffersonctr

Jefferson Center

Showcasing the work of the Jefferson Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit partnering with citizens, communities, and institutions to design and implement informed, innovative, and democratic solutions to today’s toughest challenges.

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