Civic Power
Rebuilding American Democracy in an Era of Crisis
Event
Please join us on Tuesday, September 17th for a book event and reception to celebrate the release of the new book Civic Power: Rebuilding American Democracy in an Era of Crisis.
At a time when American democracy is in crisis, the reality is that our civic and political institutions systematically devalue and weaken the voices of the most affected communities. The latest book from K. Sabeel Rahman, president of Dēmos, and Hollie Russon Gilman, a fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, argues that the problems facing American democracy are fundamentally deep problems of power — our civic infrastructure has been hijacked and optimized to concentrate political power for the few, not the many.
This focus on power, Rahman and Gilman argue, points to a very different approach to democracy reform. We cannot have a truly inclusive democracy without also investing in grassroots, bottom-up organizing on the one hand, and radically transforming our day-to-day institutions of policymaking and governance on the other. Featuring original case studies drawn from grassroots organizing, urban governance, and administrative policymaking, Civic Power calls for novel approaches to governance, policymaking, civic technology, and institutional design.
Come join the conversation with a presentation and panel from 5:30 - 7:00 PM, followed by a reception from 7:00 - 7:30 PM.
Books will be available for purchase at the event.
Panelists:
Hollie Russon Gilman
Fellow, New America, Political Reform Program
K. Sabeel Rahman
President, Dēmos
Moderator:
Mark Schmitt
Director, New America, Political Reform Program