A UVA law professor explains why this phrase is so important to democracy, and how its definition is harder to pin down than you might think.
Why proponents hope this new approach gives voters more options—and makes politicians more accountable.
A new UVA project will provide voters with accessible and reliable information around local and statewide elections.
PBS will premiere a new one-hour special, "A More Perfect Union: Inspiring Civic & Civil Conversations Across America," hosted by Melody Barnes and Jeffrey Rosen, on Monday, November 24, 2025, immediately following Ken Burns’ six-part documentary series "The American Revolution."
As the Department of Education faces potential closure, a UVA expert weighs in on what changes could mean for students, schools, and democracy.
Small-size gatherings have a large-scale impact by strengthening social trust and revitalizing civic life.
As the White House ignores judicial decisions, and Congress is increasingly lackluster in its willingness to exert its prerogatives in our mixed government system—this is the time for institutionalists to step forward, writes the Karsh Institute's research director.
"Many have thought that declining civic health could be restored through a revitalization of civil society and a rebuilding of solidarity. A primary source for that perspective that is shared across the political spectrum is Alexis de Tocqueville’s 'Democracy in America,'” writes the Karsh Institute's research director.
"The balance of power between the states and the federal government is a critical part of the design of our representative democracy, as important as the division of power and checks and balances between the judicial, legislative and executive branches of the federal government," writes the Karsh Institute's director of research.
In the first six weeks of the second Trump administration, there have been more than 100 cases brought before U.S. federal courts challenging policies and executive orders. What does the unprecedented speed and number of these cases mean for the future of American democracy?