Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories
The Panama Canal has value to American business—but it has more value to China

The Panama Canal has value to American business—but it has more value to China

A fictional, fanciful sign depicts the results of voter suppression through the unfair, partisan manipulation of district lines (gerrymandering).

The worst congressional gerrymanders of the 2020s

Congress Bill Spotlight: renaming Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America”

Congress Bill Spotlight: renaming Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America”

Project 2025: Part II

Project 2025: Part II

Redistricting

Redistricting

Is America a Democracy or a Republic?

Is America a Democracy or a Republic?
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumFeb 18, 2025
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
See More Writings by author

From the Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy:

New Democracy Discourse Lesson Addresses an Age-Old Question

Is the United States a democracy or a republic? The answer to that question often varies depending on who you ask. We explore the differences in the newest episode of Democracy Discourse, our educational series on YouTube.

In this lesson, host Brandon Stover explores the definitions and distinctions between different types of democracy, including direct and representative democracies, as well as liberal and illiberal representative democracies.

We also discuss the concept of a republic and how it contrasts with monarchy. The video features insights from experts including Francis Fukuyama and provides a comprehensive overview of the principles of democracy and liberalism in the United States, as well as the impact of federalism.


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Latest news

Students raising their hands in a classroom
Governance & Legislation

Project 2025: Department of Education

Rule of Law: Why it matters
Rule of Law

Rule of Law: Why it matters

Petitioning Congress, Restoring a Basic Constitutional Right
Democracy

Petitioning Congress, Restoring a Basic Constitutional Right

DEI programs are essential to tackle systemic barriers
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

DEI programs are essential to tackle systemic barriers

Read More

Primary Reform and Pivotal Voters

Primary Reform and Pivotal Voters

From the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers:

Primary Reform and Pivotal Voters: A discussion of research on how ideological purity gets translated into representation, the concept of the pivotal voter, and what’s on the horizon.

Join the National Association of Nonpartisan Reforms for a conversation with Sam Wang, Ph.D., from Princeton University, regarding his research on the impact of primary reform on electoral outcomes, how "pivotal voters" play into the dynamic, and what electoral reformers should keep in mind moving forward.

Keep ReadingShow less
Video: The dignity index

Video: The dignity index

UNITE is a national initiative to ease divisions, prevent violence, and solve problems. UNITE designed the Dignity Index, an eight-point scale that measures the level of contempt or dignity in a selected passage of speech. Lower scores (1-4) reflect a lack of dignity and the presence of contempt, with the lowest score (1) showing the most contempt. The higher scores (5-8) reflect language grounded in dignity, with the highest score (8) showing the most dignity.

In September 2022, a team from the University of Utah that included the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the David Eccles School of Business, and the Hinckley Institute of Politics joined the project UNITE effort to pilot the Dignity Index in Utah. With a team of 22 student coders from politically and ideologically diverse backgrounds, the Utah pilot tested using the Dignity Index in coding passages in Utah political campaigns.

Video: How America's two-party doom loop is driving division

Video: How America's two-party doom loop is driving division

"We're in a doom loop of toxic politics," says political reform scholar Lee Drutman. In this new video from Unite America, Drutman's doom loop theory is explained and we unpack how the doom loop threatens the very fabric of our nation.

How did we get here? What are the impacts of the doom loop? And most importantly, how do we get out?

Video: How independents can save American Democracy

Video: How independents can save American Democracy

Open Primaries is building a coalition of diverse Americans to enact open primaries in all 50 states.

Why do we need open primaries? Millions of independent voters - the fastest growing segment of the electorate - are excluded from voting in closed partisan primaries. Voters want to be able to choose from among all the candidates. Closed partisan primaries don't allow that.

© Copyright 2025