Das transatlantische Bekenntnis zur Demokratie steht auf beiden Seiten des Atlantiks unter Druck: In den Vereinigten Staaten hat die Trump-Regierung die Autorität der Gerichte auf die Probe gestellt; in Deutschland verändert ein zunehmender Rechtsruck die Zusammensetzung der möglichen Mehrheiten. Nach drei Landtagswahlen in Deutschland, bei denen die Parteien der Mitte erhebliche Niederlagen erlitten haben, und im Vorfeld der US-Zwischenwahlen ist es an der Zeit, uns daran zu erinnern, dass Demokratie mehr ist als Bundespolitik. Sie wird in Bezirksversammlungen genauso erprobt wie in Lesesälen. In diesem Beitrag stellen zwei US Alumni des New Bridge Programs und eine deutsche Alumna Fallstudien zur gelebten lokalen Demokratie vor.
Xris Macias, Manager at the Salt Lake City Public Library in Utah
We are long past the era of libraries just being a house for books; they contain STEM/Creative labs, meeting spaces and community kitchens. Today’s Library features essential resources for budding entrepreneurs, historical archives, music curation, Pride collections, information on how to register to vote and provides a sample of the things they are voting for. As an information professional, I can curate the available information to either reinforce someone’s opinion and experiences, or facilitate the exploration of new perspectives and ideas. If all librarians keep a similar code, a local library then becomes a place to foster open dialogue, promote respect for diverse viewpoints, educate about civil rights, and uphold human dignity. Values which are fundamental to any thriving democracy.
I truly believe in the essential democratic purpose of public libraries. It remains important for us to offer options to assist members of our communities to become more informed voters and civic actors. Democracies are built on the ability for citizens to educate themselves and make informed decisions. Public libraries are one of the few remaining places where information is readily available to anyone who might seek it out, making it a fundamental tenet of civil society.
Beyond libraries, looking across the globe, and even during these increasingly divided times, local democracy is finding renewed strength through community-sensitive, small-scale initiatives that uphold democratic values at the grassroots level. Subregional government entities such as city councils, regional planning commissions, and municipal cooperatives, are playing a vital role in reinforcing democratic commitments by empowering local institutions and communities. These entities act as connective tissue between communities and larger governmental frameworks, ensuring that democratic practices remain accessible, participatory, and responsive.
Entities and programs that prioritize civic engagement, from hosting town halls and candidate forums to organizing community dialogues on policy issues can provide neutral spaces for discourse and access to accurate information, and even though neutrality may be a goal, many of these structures, by their very nature, don’t discourage argument and debate. Having the freedom to inform yourself, present your point of view and question authority is essential to democracy. For these reasons, local agencies have become an essential platform for participatory democracy. Such efforts demonstrate how subregional government entities can strengthen democracy by investing in trusted, community-rooted institutions.
Dara Kossok-Spiess , Head of Digitalization and Network Policy at the German Trade Association (“Handelsverband Deutschland”) and member of the District Council in Spandau, Berlin
Democracy is often discussed in constitutional terms: elections, parliaments, courts. But locally, democracy is tangible. It is whether parents have a voice when a school is planned, whether young people can shape decisions before they can vote, and whether residents can follow political debates without sitting in city hall.
In Spandau, one of Berlin’s twelve districts and home to roughly a quarter of a million people, we have tried to expand precisely these opportunities. Local institutions are where people learn whether democracy works for them.
That matters on both sides of the Atlantic. Germany and the United States differ politically, but both face declining trust, polarization and fragmented digital public spheres. Social media can accelerate mis- and disinformation, while foreign influence campaigns exploit existing divisions. Local democracy cannot solve these problems alone. But it can create something digital politics often lacks: repeated, direct democratic experience.
Participation must be continuous, not episodic
In Spandau, we have tried to strengthen exactly that. Meetings of the district assembly are livestreamed. Our group meetings reserve time for residents. We supported the reactivation of the Mobility Council, bringing administration, politics and civil society together. We have also pushed for stronger participation in school construction and for a Youth Parliament, because democracy should not begin at eighteen. What connects these initiatives is simple: participation must be continuous, not episodic.
Political parties need to move beyond an electoral logic of democracy. Too often, engagement intensifies before elections and fades afterwards. Citizens are treated as voters to be mobilized every few years rather than as democratic actors with whom institutions remain in permanent conversation. That requires stronger ties with civil society: neighborhood initiatives, schools, youth organizations, social services and groups representing voices often missing from traditional political processes. Local government can give this engagement an institutional framework instead of leaving it dependent on temporary projects. In both Germany and the United States, public support for democracy, diversity and inclusion programs is currently being significantly reduced. This raises a crucial question for local democracy: how can municipalities and civil society sustain participation, inclusion and democratic resilience when the institutional and financial foundations supporting this work are weakened? Democracy promotion is not decorative policy for good times. Civic education, anti-discrimination work, youth participation and spaces for encounter are democratic infrastructure.
Polarization is not simply disagreement. The danger begins when groups stop encountering one another, opponents become enemies, and people lose confidence that institutions will listen. Digital media can reinforce these dynamics. Local democratic spaces can counter them through participation, accountability and dialogue. The first line of democratic defence can be a library in the United States, a community-owned energy agency in California, or a district council or youth parliament in a district of Berlin. These institutions turn democracy from an abstract political system into something people can experience as part of everyday life: locally, continuously, and together.
Alexandra McGee , Director of Strategic Initiatives at Marin Clean Energy in California
In 2010 there was a fight happening in the halls of Sacramento, California. The investor-owned utilities (IOUs) were funneling millions of dollars into a campaign to squash an emerging government solution to the rolling black-outs that had harmed the state a decade prior. After many years of planning and feasibility studies, Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) were finally becoming a reality for California with the incorporation of Marin Clean Energy (MCE).
This new public agency would demonstrate that you didn’t need to be a private corporate actor to help move our state toward our ambitious clean energy goals. Fast forward fifteen years and MCE is serving almost 600,000 electric accounts with 60-100% renewable energy, supporting 1.5 million+ residents in the Bay Area to clean up the carbon from their energy sources. With a local elected official representing each of the 38 member communities who have signed on to this service, MCE is proof that local governments can wield significant impact in catalyzing change even in difficult technical markets.
As the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at MCE, I’ve seen the agency support, promote, and accelerate technologies and strategies to help California meet its clean energy goals faster and more equitably. CCAs are not-for-profit public agencies governed by a Board of Directors or Council composed of elected officials representing the community voice in agency decisions. In meetings open to the public, these Boards democratically vote on agency policy, approve programs, and set generation rates for electric service. With their autonomy and public mandate, these governing bodies have the flexibility and sovereignty to set the priorities and direction of the agency to reflect community values and concerns, infusing CCAs with a unique sensitivity to local community affairs. The CCA therefore actively makes different decisions than private entities that are required to secure profits for their investors. Given the public nature of their role, they can further align CCAs with the objectives laid out by their corresponding town, city, and county governments, further integrating CCAs into the social fabric of a community.
Why is this important? In the transatlantic dialogue, we’re seeing the erosion of democratic institutions as a growing crisis across various countries and contexts. Having strong local government agencies – like those that generate electricity, those that lend books, those that represent their district – becomes an important line of defense against growing authoritarian sentiment. These agencies often provide direct service to their communities, their forums encourage active civic participation, their elected officials often serve their terms from a sense of duty and patriotism. These institutions represent the everyday practice of democracy. When they thrive, people feel their voice matters. When people feel their voice matters, they are far less likely to be seduced by anti-democratic forces. Local government is where trust in democracy is earned or lost, one lightbulb and storytime at a time.
Defending these civic institutions keeps the door locked against authoritarian creep.