2026-27 Democracy at Scale

The Clough Center's 2026-'27 theme is “Democracy at Scale.” Citizens and scholars alike often think of "democracy" in terms of its essential components: free and fair elections, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of speech – to take just three. But we do not engage in democracy for its own sake; we engage in democracy to govern: to solve the problems and work toward the goals that the people – the dēmos – identify. Which of those problems are best addressed locally? Which objectives are best pursued nationally, or even supranationally? And, crucially, who decides? Democracy at Scale is about considering those questions and the many approaches and principles that go with them – from participatory budgeting to federalism to regional autonomy.