The Role of Intermediaries in Digital Democracy
The organizations connecting citizens to government shape democracy more than the platforms themselves
Why Government Websites Are So Frustrating
The structural forces that make public sector digital services fail — and what actually fixes them
Digital Town Halls That Actually Work
What separates digital town halls that produce genuine deliberation from performative engagement rituals
The Hidden Costs of Open Government Data
Why releasing government data doesn't automatically strengthen democracy—and what it takes to make transparency genuinely work for citizens.
The Algorithm That Decides Who Gets Housing
How automated systems encode contested values about who deserves help—and escape democratic accountability
Why Voting Apps Keep Getting Hacked
The security problem with digital voting isn't technical immaturity—it's a fundamental conflict between verification and secrecy.
Why Most Civic Apps Fail Within Two Years
The predictable patterns that doom digital democracy projects—and how to avoid repeating expensive mistakes
The False Promise of Blockchain Voting
Why cryptographic solutions can't fix problems that aren't cryptographic
Why Petition Platforms Rarely Change Policy
Millions of signatures, minimal policy impact—the structural reasons petitions fail and what actually works
The Rise of Surveillance Cities
Smart city sensors promise efficiency but deliver unprecedented surveillance—can democratic governance catch up?
Crowdsourcing Laws That Citizens Actually Use
When citizen involvement produces better laws, not just more democratic ones
Building Digital Infrastructure for Civic Resilience
What separates communities that maintain democratic function during crises from those that don't? Infrastructure decisions made years earlier.
How 311 Systems Reveal Civic Inequality
Examining how non-emergency request systems expose neighborhood disparities and what cities can do to transform these tools into instruments of municipal equity
Why Government AI Needs Democratic Oversight
How invisible algorithmic discretion undermines accountability and what governance frameworks can restore democratic control over automated public decisions
Digital Identity Systems That Protect Democracy
How architectural choices in digital ID systems determine who can participate in democracy—and who watches them do it
How Civic Technology Widens the Participation Gap
Why digital democracy tools often serve the already-engaged while creating new barriers for marginalized communities
The Psychology of Civic App Abandonment
Why citizens download civic apps with enthusiasm but abandon them within weeks—and what behavioral science reveals about sustaining democratic technology engagement
Citizen Assemblies in the Digital Age
How digital tools can strengthen or undermine the legitimacy of randomly selected citizen deliberation—and what determines which outcome you get.
Digital Public Squares That Don't Become Toxic
Platform design, community investment, and legitimate moderation determine whether online civic spaces enable democracy or destroy it.
Participatory Budgeting Beyond the Pilot
Why most participatory budgeting programs stall and the structural design choices that determine whether citizen involvement becomes permanent democratic infrastructure.