Program in Democratic Institutions and Processes

Democracy in the United States and other industrialized nations faces daunting challenges. These problems are rooted in the rapid pace of technological and demographic change. Responding effectively to these challenges is complicated by the forces of globalization as well as by a radical transformation of the political milieu. Many mature democracies now function within a milieu that hampers rather than facilitates the ability of government to respond to contemporary problems decisively, coherently, and in a manner consistent with democratic values.

The latter half of the 20th century witnessed a proliferation of well-funded, ideologically narrow special interest groups, which forged an unhealthy political stalemate that now prevents cohesive responses to multifaceted problems. Contributing to this stalemate has been the rise of political parties and institutions that are polarized ideologically and a media that has adopted an increasingly aggressive, hostile posture in its coverage of politics.

A consequence of this stalemate is that the emergence of visionary political leaders who will champion core democratic values and principles is impeded. Most modern political leaders are more preoccupied with poll results and fundraising than with enlightened stewardship. Nor have these leaders demonstrated the courage necessary to promote structural changes designed to better realize democratic ideals.

The results of these developments are crises of government and public confidence that threaten the long-term viability of mature democracies. Ironically, these crises of confidence are occurring just as much of the developing world is embracing democracy. The global implications of this situation makes it imperative that established democracies succeed in finding ways to better realize democratic values and principles in governmental operations.

Consequently, the objectives of the Program on Democratic Institutions and Processes are threefold: (1) to sponsor research targeted at evaluating the operations of democratic governments in light of core democratic values and principles; (2) to generate ongoing dialogues between democracy scholars and reform-minded citizens, organizations, and public officials; and (3) to disseminate the results of its findings and conclusions widely. 

To do this, the Program on Democratic Institutions and Processes will oversee a strategically conceived program of research that will inventory, assess, analyze, and integrate critiques of democracy and ideas for democratic reform.  Its efforts in this regard will be aided by both a half-century of advances in social science methodology and the revolution in information technology. 

Advances in research methods facilitate the rigorous analysis of the consequences of different institutional and procedural designs for democratic ideals and 21st century realities.  The revolution in information technology makes it possible to (1) efficiently gather vast amounts of data from a variety of institutional settings and nations, and to (2) present sophisticated findings to practitioners in a visually appealing and easily understandable format.  The program aims to be a pioneer in developing information-technology tools with which to present sophisticated findings to practitioners, thereby enriching the dialogue between producers and consumers of important social science findings.

The program will institutionalize these dialogues though its sponsorship of a series of conferences, workshops, and symposia on how democracy works and how it can be improved to better realize democratic ideals.  The purpose of these meetings will be both to disseminate research findings and reform proposals, and to acquire “real world” feedback on issues and problems that can shape the program’s research agenda.  These meetings will also be useful in helping the program design strategies for the wider dissemination of its work.