democracy

Will Tunisia’s Arab Spring Reach Full Bloom?

The Arab Spring began in Tunisia more than four years ago, with the Jasmine Revolution. While the Spring’s promise of democratic representation petered out in other Arab countries, in Tunisia, it has taken hold. The country’s democratic transition has built real momentum.

A new constitution. The election of parliament. And a head of state. The peaceful transition of power. Now, Tunisia is focused on designing and rebuilding government at the state and local levels, and it is evaluating its progress and looking around the world for models of local democracy.

But threats …

Read More

Why Can’t Americans Talk About Equality?

Political Philosopher Danielle Allen, Winner of the Fifth Annual Zócalo Book Prize, on the Fundamental Ideal We Tossed Aside in Favor of Freedom

by Sarah Rothbard |

Ferguson, Missouri and policing problems. The rising income gap. Creating institutions to serve a future majority-minority country. Open a newspaper in America today, and a host of problems present themselves …

Must We Choose Between Freedom and Equality?

Our Declaration

by Danielle Allen |

As schoolchildren we learn that all people–and all Americans–are created equal. But sometimes it feels as if this country’s leaders have forgotten that equality is one of the tenets this …

Is Rising Inequality Slowly Poisoning Our Democracy?

What the Growing Gap Between the Haves and Have-Nots Is Doing to American Morals, Myths, Social and Economic Policies, and Politics

Back in the 1980s, President Reagan famously took a jab at the policies of Lyndon Johnson with the remark, “In the ’60s we waged a war on poverty, and poverty …

How Would Students Spend the Principal’s Money?

A Phoenix High School’s Experiment Shows That Kids Can Prioritize and Collaborate When Their Education Is at Stake

by Matt Cohen and Daniel Schugurensky |

During the 2013-14 school year, Quintin Boyce, the principal of Bioscience, a public high school in Phoenix, took a portion of his discretionary budget and told students they could decide …

Why the Americas Are Letting Venezuela Self-Destruct

At the Turn of the 21st Century, Latin American Nations Made Commitments to Defend Democracy. Those Days Are Gone.

by Christopher Sabatini |

Elected leaders across the hemisphere gathered to condemn and possibly sanction a neighboring president who closed down independent media and harassed political opponents.

Venezuela? If only. That was Peru in 2000.

The …


By continuing to use our website, you agree to our privacy and cookie policy.

✕

Get More Zócalo

No paywall. No ads. No partisan hacks. Ideas journalism with a head and a heart.

You may opt out or contact us anytime.

×