Getting Americans Involved in Policy, Washington’s Israel Messaging, and More

June 12, 2021

The wisdom of small crowds: The case for using Citizens' Juries to shape policy

The 2020 voting surge suggests that Americans are becoming more invested in politics. While voting once every few years is important, more can be done to integrate the diverse opinions of citizens into the democratic and policymaking processes. Kyle Bozentko, Ashleigh Maciolek, Richard Reeves, and Hannah Van Drie point to Citizens' Juries as a vehicle to make this happen.

America must rethink its messaging about Israel and the Palestinians

"As a sovereign state, Israel can define itself as it likes. But the United States—especially under the Biden administration which prioritizes the fight for democracy—must not embrace and advocate what inherently contradicts the cherished values of democracy and equality it wants to defend and promote," writes Shibley Telhami.

Why is Manchin such a thorn in the Democratic Party’s side?

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) recently stated that he would oppose the "For the People Act"—Democrats' signature voting rights legislation—and declared that he would never vote to weaken or end the filibuster. Sarah Binder explains what political science can tell us about party outliers like Manchin and how the senator's actions have given political cover to his moderate colleagues.

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