Direct Democracy, Constituent Power, and the Common(s)

Our panel will explore programs, practices, and experimentations in the power-building models we are constructing from below. Central to the question of movement building is that of how we can organize ourselves democratically, without coercion, and power-hoarding, and with the particularities of gender, race, ability, and other forms of domination in mind. Our presentations will explore many aspects of direct democratic governance including collective decision-making, equitable management of resources, addressing interpersonal and structural conflict resolution, emergent contradictions of building and sustaining radical democratic institutions, and requisite approaches to resolve them. Our presentations are connected with a common thread of anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist approaches seeking to address the sociopolitical, economic, and ecological crises of our time.

Speakers include:

  • Alison Chopel, Universidad de Puerto Rico
  • Ndindi Kitonga, Palms Unhoused Mutual Aid
  • Kermit O, abolitionist researcher and writer
  • Yvonne Yen Liu, Solidarity Research Center

We will be presenting this panel at the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN on Thursday, June 20th 2024 from 2:45 PM to 4:15 PM ET. We are making our panel available for people to attend virtually by livestream.

Watch