Citizen Disengagement

Citizen disengagement and disillusionment with mainstream politics, the so-called ‘democratic disconnect’, is highlighted by declining trust in political leadership and parties, falling turnouts at elections and a common view that politics and policy making is disconnected from ordinary people.

Eastern Europe, citizen disengagement, political volatility

The Decline of Democracy in East-Central Europe

July 1, 2014

Attila Ágh from Corvinus University of Budapest examines the status of the democracies that emerged in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1989.

Academic
citizen disengagement, civil society, money politics

The Czech Republic's Struggles with Democracy

June 17, 2014

Former Presidential adviser Jiri Pehe examines the Czech Republic's struggles with democracy 25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Academic
voter turnout, voter registration

Voter Engagement in the UK

November 14, 2014

A report by the British House of Commons states that low voter registration and turnout is approaching a 'crisis'.

Report
social media, major parties

Digital Didn't Win It But It Did Shape the Campaign

May 21, 2015

Andy Williamson from Democracy Space reflects on the influence of social media on the 2015 UK election campaign.

Opinion
accountability, asylum seekers

Boats Secrecy Leads to Bad Policy without Democratic Accountability

June 17, 2015

The Australian government's secrecy in the way it handles asylum-seekers is undermining its democratic accountability, writes Alex Reilly of the University of Adelaide.

Opinion
parliamentary systems

Question Time for Democracy

October 22, 2015

Melanie Sully, Director of the Policy and Research Institute for Go-Governance, sees the questioning of democracy as part of its renewal.

Opinion
trust, Tony Abbott, transparency, accountability

What Can Governments and Leaders Do When Trust Evaporates?

February 9, 2015

The Melbourne School of Government's Helen Sullivan asks whether governments have the capacity to act when the public doesn't trust politicians and politics. 

Opinion
deliberative democracy, citizen reengagement, e-democracy

Online Citizen Activism the Key to Fixing Politics

February 1, 2015

Tim Flannery and Catriona Wallace argue in The Monthly that online citizen forums to discuss and decide on policy is the answer to fixing democracy.

Opinion
voter registration, voter turnout, compulsory voting

Political Inequality in the UK and Why it Matters

November 10, 2013

British think-tank Institute for Public Policy Research calls for compulsory voting in the UK to reverse low voter turnout among the young and less affluent.

Report

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