Mel Ross
@melross.bsky.social
Political scientist @unibremen.bsky.social CoLead @glocan.bsky.social CoChair @ecpr.bsky.social's Standing Group on Democratic Innovations 📍Berlin
“Perhaps the issues of shrinking resources — in housing, healthcare, policing and education — and the interests of the world’s richest man are connected after all … it is not ideology — or not just ideology. It’s deflection” www.ft.com/content/0f3e...
Big Tech is stoking unrest in the UK. Why?
Elon Musk’s amplification of anti-immigrant sentiment in Belfast, Southampton and beyond cannot be explained by ideology alone
ft.com
📢 We are hiring! Three days left Help us to disseminate @davidfarrell-ucd.bsky.social @dsmilde.bsky.social @clodaghharris.bsky.social @deldemucan.bsky.social @directdemocracynet.bsky.social @joanfontfab.bsky.social @melross.bsky.social @eljorobado.bsky.social @gubasart.bsky.social
Yanina Welp@welpita.bsky.social · 2mo ago📢 We are hiring! 2 postdoctoral researchers at the University of Girona on: 🔹 Participatory Constitution-Making 🔹 Direct Democracy, Constitutional Change & Recall 📅 Deadline: 11 June 2026 ⏳ Up to 4 years Please share widely! popgovproject.wordpress.com/postdoc-posi...
🎯 Do citizen participation institutions really get stronger once they’re institutionalized—or do they become rigid, predictable, and easier to control? 📚Evidence from participatory budgeting, popular initiatives, and citizens’ assemblies in #Latam @melross.bsky.social bit.ly/4qkXG6h
“More” or “Better” Institutionalization? Lessons From Latin American Institutions of Citizen Participation | Article | Politics and Governance
Benjamin Goldfrank, Melisa Ross, Yanina Welp
cogitatiopress.com
‘It has gone largely unnoticed that time spent on social media peaked in 2022 and has since gone into steady decline … There is one notable exception to this promising international trend: North America’ on.ft.com/46OmMm1
Have we passed peak social media?
As platforms degrade into outrage and slop, users are turning away
on.ft.com
Meter una mujer más en al foto -- Dina Boluarte-- aunque no tenga aval popular, pesen sobre ella acusaciones serias de corrupción y no haya aportado nada ni a la democracia ni a la causa de las mujeres sencillamente no tiene ningún sentido. ONU mujerse, urge una rectificación, @unwomen.bsky.social
📸 Sharing some snapshots from the JDD’s participation at the ECPR #DemocraticInnovations Standing Group Reception! Check out the key points from our editor @sbussu.bsky.social's speech at the event 👇 www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...
For the past four (!) years, @glocan.bsky.social and @iswe-foundation.bsky.social have been reflecting on learnings from the 2021 Global Assembly. In this correspondence, we take stock of what citizen deliberation may still do for global climate governance. 📑 doi.org/10.1016/j.es...
📣 Hungry for democracy? The Democracy R&D 2025 programme is live – and it’s a full-course menu. Sessions are carefully tagged by purpose (inform, train, debate, solve, network) and spice level (mild to spicy). New or seasoned, there’s a seat at the table. 🍽️ drive.google.com/file/d/1TEgK...
Landed in Rio some days ago for the @participedia.bsky.social School on Democratic Innovations with Traditional and Indigenous Communities. We are hosting two public roundtables next week, on decolonising knowledge production, and on intersectional leadership. Come by if you’re around!
Looking for short, punchy texts? Search no more👇
Global Citizens' Assembly Network@glocan.bsky.social · last yr.All Research x Practice Exchanges are now out! If you're looking for thought-provoking summer reads, find all links below: #CONVENING lnkd.in/eEDhGw9Q #GOVERNING lnkd.in/eFwS5ih8 #GROUNDING lnkd.in/etn_h5gv #DOCKING lnkd.in/eYmDvecG
We're ending our June launch series with the fourth Research x Practice Exchange dedicated to Docking Global Deliberation. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴’ 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦? @nicolecurato.bsky.social, Aish Machani, and Antoine Vergne reply➡️ glocan.org/wp-content/u...
New week, new Research x Practice Exchange out! 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴’ 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴? @nigriveloso.bsky.social, Susan Lee and @andreafelicetti.bsky.social reflect on Grounding Global Deliberation. Read here ➡️ glocan.org/wp-content/u...
Catching up with #demoinno in Latin America with challenging findings by @welpita.bsky.social, @ernestoisunza.bsky.social, Adrian Gurza, Gisela Zaremberg, and Sofia Donoso. The kickoff: “Democratizing the State”, now out: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
Os desafios da participação: perspectivas e dilemas da democracia na América Latina
YouTube video by ipolunb
youtube.com
Can, and should, the principles of deliberative democracy be applied to how global citizens’ assemblies are organised? This week, @rikkidean.bsky.social, @melross.bsky.social and Flynn Devine tackle questions of values and practice in Research x Practice Exchange #2 ➡️ glocan.org/wp-content/u...
Who experiences disadvantage in deliberations? Can socio-demographic categories help identify them in advance? How can we also account for their agency and ownership of their experience? Find out in our latest paper, out now in 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 ⬇️ doi.org/10.1177/1468...
Last year we hosted our first public Seminar Series on 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. This June, we’re releasing four reflection pieces on topical questions in global and transnational deliberation. First edition out now! 💡 glocan.org/wp-content/u...
Last weekend, the #DemocraticOdyssey came to an end. 300 participants from across Europe met in Athens, Florence, and Vienna to work on a Citizens’ Charter. The document is live and open to commentary: democratic-odyssey.k8s.osp.cat/assemblies/t... Pictured: Assembly members, crew, and observers.
‘libraries are places in which we work, study, meet, chat, use the toilet, get warm, connect to free wifi, attend classes, access childcare, receive legal advice or forms of state support. And it is this capacity that libraries begin to spill into other forms of public luxury’
The public library: an exemplar of public luxury
In his blog for our UBS Hub, Liam Mullally explores the public library as an exemplar of public luxury.
autonomy.work
Happy Friday! We’re ending the week with a snapshot from last weekend’s 10th European Citizens’ Panel. The assembly brought together 150 Europeans,a third of them young people. They produced 22 recommendations on the next European budget. Read more in our coming newsletter 🔜 GloCAN.org
‘In the US immigration control industry, people are raw material’ — @newleftreview.bsky.social
JoAnn Wypijewski, Disposable — Sidecar
The US migration regime.
newleftreview.org
New publication in Contemporary Politics! ‘Democratic innovations and political parties: reevaluating the influence of ideology’ If you are interested in how political parties interact with democratic innovations, this article is for you. Link to the article👇 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
‘No amount of "deep concern" can make up for the military, economic and political support our government continues to provide. No words can negate the sale of deadly F-35 components. And no statements "urging" Israel to stop can match the impunity it has been granted to carry on.’
Jeremy Corbyn@jeremycorbyn.bsky.social · last yr.Ethnic cleansing was always the plan — and our government cannot pretend it didn’t know. A statement from the Independent Alliance.
This report centres the experience, strategies, and frustrations of public officials - the other side of participatory initiatives. Highly recommended read for promoters of democratic innovations. Congrats Sahib and Johannes for the great work!
Nets4Dem@nets4dem.eu · last yr.What happens after democratic innovations? 🧭 Our new report draws lessons from 17 senior civil servants across Europe - showing how to embed participation into everyday governance. 10 takeaways and open questions 👉 bit.ly/3Gk86S0
Still smiling a lot from last week's @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social's Annual Conference in Birmingham. Always a joy to hear about friends and colleagues‘ work, get into amicable fights, then solve empirical differences at the pub - all fairly deliberative, of course! Do I have pics? Well of course
Happy Monday! We're starting the week with great news: a new paper is out by GloCAN's @nicolecurato.bsky.social, @melross.bsky.social, @nigriveloso.bsky.social, and RADEZA's @Amiltone Luis. Read 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 following this link ➡️ www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Just sortition, communitarian deliberation: Two proposals for grounded climate assemblies
Sortition or recruiting randomly selected everyday citizens is a core feature of climate assemblies. Sortition, the argument goes, enforces the princi…
sciencedirect.com
AOC: Donald Trump is a criminal. He was found guilty of 34 felony counts of fraud, found liable for sexual abuse. If he wants to find the rapists and criminals in this country, he should look in the mirror
