By Franklin De Vrieze. Across democratic governance systems, parliaments are facing a paradox. Never before have there been so many technological tools promising to improve legislative scrutiny, evidence use, and public engagement. Yet never has the gap between the pace of technological change and the capacity of democratic institutions to respond felt so wide. This is not simply a story about adopting new software or experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI); it is about institutional transformation.…
By Cristina Leston-Bandeira. How does one write about someone who you never thought would not be here? How do you put on paper how much that person meant to you? Contrary to David, I’m terrible at writing; he would know what I want to say, without me having to say it. For no particular reason or design, David Judge became a sort of mentor to me – and this happened without either of us thinking…
By Nimako Kuffour Anning. If you think of a dispatch box as merely a piece of furniture in a parliamentary chamber, you would be missing a central thread in how modern legislatures order speech, accountability, and power. The paper at the heart of this discussion treats the dispatch box as more than a podium; it is a ceremonial technology that embodies authority, procedure, and an evolving political culture across Westminster-derived legislatures. In particular, it turns…
Eight Ways Parliaments Can Rebuild Trust Through Citizen Engagement By Jessica Benton Cooney. This post was originally published on Medium by Inter Pares (https://medium.com/@interpares/the-new-playbook-f9b72f919c7b) Trust in democracy is declining worldwide, and parliaments — the essential link between citizens and state decision-making — are no exception. While citizen engagement is more critical than ever, practical, actionable guidance for how parliaments can effectively involve the public has been hard to find. To meet this urgent challenge, International…
By Franklin De Vrieze. When was the last time you had a conversation about power, trust and accountability? For those of us who joined the Global Dialogue on Strengthening Fiscal Ecosystems, it was just a few short weeks ago. The Global Dialogue was convened by the Trust, Accountability and Inclusion (TAI) Collaborative, with the support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Gates Foundation and Ford Foundation, and joined by the World Bank,…
