Why States Can Lead America Forward

Pursuing Progressive Policies on the State Level Can Move the Dial on Major Issues Like Citizenship, Immigration, and Health Care

American states, conventionally seen as threats to Americans’ constitutional rights, also can be powerful forces for protecting and extending rights in ways that benefit the whole country, said panelists at a Zócalo/Center for Social Innovation virtual event yesterday titled “Are American States Better at Protecting Human Rights Than the U.S. Government?”

The discussion dug deep into the complexities, contradictions, and cross-pressures of American federalism, and how states and the federal government push and pull each other on citizenship, immigration, and health care. While noting all the ways that states have infringed …

Californians Need a New Political Party That Can Keep Us Afloat | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Californians Need a New Political Party That Can Keep Us Afloat

Forget Democrats and Republicans. Real Change Requires Fresh Ideology

I got one of those calls again—they come every six months or so—from a Silicon Valley hotshot who wants to use his brain and his wealth to fix what ails …

It’s Time for the U.S. to Manifest Humility | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

It’s Time for the U.S. to Manifest Humility

America's Political Crack-Up Is an Opportunity to Learn More From the Rest of the World

Political hysteria has conquered America—and made the United States much more like the rest of the world.

So argued the London-based essayist and novelist Pankaj Mishra during a fast-paced and wide-ranging …

Could California-Style Voting by Referendum Unify the Nation? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Could California-Inspired Voting by Referendum Unify the Nation?

An Expert in Direct Democracy Offers a Plan to Improve the Republic, One Ballot at a Time

California has a solution for America’s putrid populism and political paralysis on issues from abortion to voting rights to reducing greenhouse gases.

That solution is adopting direct democracy at the national …

Why ‘Treason’ Usually Isn’t Treason | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Why ‘Treason’ Usually Isn’t Treason

The Constitution Defines Treason Narrowly. That Hasn’t Stopped the Overblown Rhetoric

The last four years have been a strange time to be a scholar of American treason law. The members of this tiny (and I mean really tiny) group used to …

Madrid Has 57 Councilmembers. Seoul Has 110. Why Does L.A. Have 15? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Madrid Has 57 Councilmembers. Seoul Has 110. Why Does L.A. Have 15?

More Mayoral Authority Won't Empower California Cities; Electing More of Your Neighbors to Local Posts Will

If you want to make your California city government stronger, don’t make your mayor more powerful. Instead, make your city council bigger.

This summer, two of our state’s most thoughtful …