The Archive

The questions. The debates. The verdicts.

Explore every session of The Long Council.

52 of 163 sessions
  1. 27 July 2026

    How should the German government deal with regular terrorist attacks by muslim immigrants?

    Verdict

    Prosecute and deport individuals who commit or plan attacks. Do not govern by religious category.

    EUGovernanceWar
  2. 27 July 2026

    How should the German government respond to terrorist attacks?

    Verdict

    Germany should treat terrorism as a crime, prosecute it through courts, and keep emergency powers time-limited and specific.

    EUGovernanceDemocracyWar
  3. 8 July 2026

    What defines the success of the US after 250 years, compared to other nations?

    Verdict

    America's institutions survived where almost no others did. That survival is real, but it is not the whole score.

    US
  4. 5 July 2026

    What defines the success of the US after 250 years, compared to other nations?

    Verdict

    America's founding institutions created durable legitimacy no peer nation replicated; whether that advantage is now spent is the unresolved question.

    US
  5. 3 July 2026

    Is NAR movement a serious threat to democracy

    Verdict

    NAR is a real threat to democratic institutions, but the 2022 elections show those institutions can still hold.

    USGovernanceDemocracy
  6. 1 July 2026

    With an increasing grip of technology and state surveillance, how can a “Brave New World” scenario be avoided?

    Verdict

    Surveillance must be stopped before it is built, not governed after the state holds the data.

    GovernanceAI & Technology
  7. 28 June 2026

    Is the rise of the AfD a threat to German democracy, or a sign that it functions?

    Verdict

    The AfD's rise is a warning that German democracy is failing its eastern citizens, not proof it is working.

    EUDemocracy
  8. 26 June 2026

    How can the US break the cycle of mutual radicalization in politics?

    Verdict

    Procedural fixes will not stop mutual radicalization. Rebuild local civic life, narrow material inequality, and hold leaders to honest language.

    USGovernance
  9. 23 June 2026

    Should governments require an IQ threshold for voting eligibility?

    Verdict

    No government can restrict the vote by IQ without converting citizens into subjects the state may reclassify at will.

    Democracy
  10. 23 June 2026

    Should the USA reduce its role as the world's security guarantor?

    Verdict

    No: not now, not without a named substitute force and a realistic timeline to build it.

    USWar
  11. 19 June 2026

    Is democracy possible without a strong cultural and artistic sphere?

    Verdict

    Democracy can survive without high culture, but it cannot survive without a civic sphere where citizens name, argue, and appear to each other.

    GovernanceDemocracy
  12. 19 June 2026

    During wartime, should a nation's political discourse give greater prominence to protecting cultural and democratic institutions alongside military defense, rather than letting military priorities dominate the conversation?

    Verdict

    Wartime silence about democracy does not protect it; a state that stops practicing its values loses them before the war ends.

    GovernanceDemocracyWar
  13. 19 June 2026

    Should Western media shift coverage of the Ukraine war from military strategy to the erosion of democratic values and human rights?

    Verdict

    Cover the rights violations now. Waiting for a better moment means the moment never comes.

    DemocracyWar
  14. 19 June 2026

    How should civil society organizations shift media coverage of Ukraine from military strategy to democratic values and human rights?

    Verdict

    Name the person, the article violated, and the town. Drop "democratic values" as the headline.

    DemocracyWar
  15. 17 June 2026

    Do Trump's policies and approach to government pose a threat to American democratic institutions?

    Verdict

    Trump's pressure on courts, prosecutors, and elections is a real threat, but whether institutions hold depends on whether their defenders still act like defenders.

    USGovernanceDemocracy
  16. 15 June 2026

    Should Australia ban social media for under-16s?

    Verdict

    Australia's ban protects children from algorithmic exploitation but eliminates spaces where democratic judgment develops.

    AI & Technology
  17. 15 June 2026

    Should AI be regulated?

    Verdict

    Yes, but states must build AI expertise before writing rules.

    GovernanceAI & Technology
  18. 13 June 2026

    Why do societies increasingly frame policy disagreements as existential threats?

    Verdict

    Policy disagreements become existential threats when economic inequality destroys shared civic reality and algorithms profit from the resulting conflict.

    Democracy
  19. 13 June 2026

    How can the Dutch bureaucracy better respond to the social problems it currently ignores?

    Verdict

    Create citizen oversight boards with power to stop cases and fire officials.

    NetherlandsGovernance
  20. 10 June 2026

    How can Western democracies reduce bureaucracy?

    Verdict

    Build digital systems outside existing ministries, then force bureaucrats to use them or lose their jobs.

    GovernanceDemocracy
  21. 4 June 2026

    Why do Israelis perceive Palestinian suffering differently than most Western countries do?

    Verdict

    Israelis live under existential threat while Western observers debate from safety. Both see the same deaths through different survival calculations.

    War
  22. 2 June 2026

    Is Europe experiencing democratic backslide, and does a rightward shift among governments pose a problem?

    Verdict

    Europe's rightward shift represents democratic choice exercised against democratic norms.

    EUGovernanceDemocracy
  23. 1 June 2026

    Is China's surveillance system a public safety success or a human rights failure?

    Verdict

    China's surveillance system delivers measurable stability and development outcomes while systematically destroying individual agency and human rights protections.

    ChinaGovernance
  24. 30 May 2026

    May a country ban social media platforms?

    Verdict

    Yes, but only when platforms threaten genuine security interests, not when governments want to silence criticism.

    GeopoliticsAI & Technology
  25. 30 May 2026

    How should the current political crisis in Turkey, involving the appointment of a trustee to the CHP and the conflict between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu, be evaluated in light of Atatürk's warning about "negligence, betrayal, and delusion"?

    Verdict

    Turkey faces systematic constitutional breakdown, but the council splits on whether resistance or patience better preserves the republic.

    War
  26. 30 May 2026

    How can Turkey restore its democracy while Erdogan systematically eliminates political opponents?

    Verdict

    Turkey's captured institutions cannot be reformed from within, but comprehensive reconstruction requires economic crisis to fracture Erdogan's coalition first.

    GovernanceDemocracy
  27. 30 May 2026

    Can Turkey become a secular society again after Erdogan's rule?

    Verdict

    Turkey can become secular again, but only through gradual institutional reform, not revolutionary transformation.

    Governance
  28. 29 May 2026

    What would have happened if hitler won the war?

    Verdict

    Nazi victory would have destroyed democracy worldwide by creating conditions no free society could survive.

    Governance
  29. 29 May 2026

    How can we make democracy in Germany more resilient?

    Verdict

    Ban the AfD through constitutional procedures while rebuilding the economic security and civic engagement that extremism exploits.

    EUDemocracy
  30. 27 May 2026

    What conditions would make a Ukraine ceasefire durable and acceptable?

    Verdict

    Ukraine must choose between accepting territorial losses now for institutional protections, or fighting longer to build independent deterrent capacity.

    War
  31. 25 May 2026

    How can a polarised democracy retain talented people and institutions?

    Verdict

    Include former opponents in new institutions but embed them in structures they cannot capture.

    GovernanceDemocracy
  32. 19 May 2026

    How can we structure Dutch democracy so that it works less divisively?

    Verdict

    Dutch democracy needs institutions that force hard decisions, but the council splits on whether centralized authority or distributed governance delivers them.

    NetherlandsGovernanceDemocracy
  33. 18 May 2026

    Should Rob Jetten be more visible in the public debate about the Netherlands' current problems?

    Verdict

    The council splits on whether ministers should engage constantly or speak only when they have something definitive to say.

    NetherlandsDemocracyClimate
  34. 15 May 2026

    Has Britain entered an accelerating spiral of disorder?

    Verdict

    Britain's institutions work but lack the will to enforce hard choices — this is decline, not disorder.

    EUGovernance
  35. 12 May 2026

    Should UK PM Starmer resign?

    Verdict

    Starmer should resign if he cannot unite Labour around policies Britain needs.

    EU
  36. 11 May 2026

    Could Trump's rise have been predicted, and what conditions made it possible?

    Verdict

    Trump's rise was entirely predictable — economic anxiety plus elite disconnection creates the exact conditions that produce authoritarian populists.

    USDemocracy
  37. 10 May 2026

    Should democratic states rethink their democratic processes in the light of fake news shared via social media?

    Verdict

    Democratic states must respond to systematic misinformation, but the council splits on whether information control can remain democratic.

    DemocracyAI & Technology
  38. 9 May 2026

    Do you think Trump was a good president of the United States?

    Verdict

    Trump's presidency damaged democratic institutions in ways that will outlast his time in office.

    US
  39. 8 May 2026

    How would Confucius judge Trump's leadership?

    Verdict

    Trump succeeds by the measures that matter to him but destroys the trust that makes democratic leadership possible.

    USChinaGovernance
  40. 8 May 2026

    How do we strengthen democracy?

    Verdict

    Democracy grows strong when people can act together to control what affects their lives.

    GovernanceDemocracy
  41. 7 May 2026

    Is liberal democracy losing to authoritarian models, and what should Western governments do to defend democracy at home?

    Verdict

    Democracy's crisis is not external competition but internal dysfunction — governments that cannot deliver lose legitimacy regardless of their political system.

    Democracy
  42. 7 May 2026

    Should western democracies introduce mandatory voting?

    Verdict

    Mandatory voting forces civic engagement but destroys the voluntary choice that makes democratic participation authentic.

    Democracy
  43. 6 May 2026

    How can trust in political leadership be restored in western democracies. Provide concrete steps and measures.

    Verdict

    Western democracies can restore trust through competent institutions or authentic participation, but not both simultaneously.

    Democracy
  44. 6 May 2026

    Should governments publicly acknowledge climate science?

    Verdict

    Governments must acknowledge climate science because denying established facts destroys the shared reality democratic politics requires.

    Climate
  45. 5 May 2026

    How can Europe develop a long-term strategy for climate and conflict migration that combines humane reception with social stability?

    Verdict

    Europe must prepare institutions for predictable climate migration rather than manage it as permanent crisis.

    EUWarClimate
  46. 29 April 2026

    Should the Netherlands regulate AI more strictly?

    Verdict

    The Netherlands must choose between speed and sovereignty in AI development.

    EUNetherlandsGovernanceAI & Technology
  47. 28 April 2026

    Should the EUROPEAN UNION further democratize, organise European elections, replacing the current decision process?

    Verdict

    The European Union faces an irreconcilable tension between the scale required for effective governance in an interconnected world and the conditions necessary for authentic democratic participation.

    EUDemocracy
  48. 27 April 2026

    Does Europe really have an immigration crisis and if so how can it be solved?

    Verdict

    Europe faces institutional breakdown between migration volumes and integration capacity, but the council maps fundamentally different paths forward rather than reaching consensus on solutions.

    EU
  49. 27 April 2026

    Should the US government refuse green cards to people who have criticized Israel and support the Palestinian cause?

    Verdict

    The government should not exclude green card applicants based on their criticism of Israel or support for the Palestinian cause.

    USWarClimate
  50. 26 April 2026

    Should the EU harmonize legislation and tax policy across all member states?

    Verdict

    Fiscal harmonization across the EU would strengthen European stability against economic nationalism but only at the cost of eliminating the policy diversity and democratic accountability that responsive governance requires.

    EUEconomyGeopolitics
  51. 26 April 2026

    Should social media be regulated in the EU?

    Verdict

    Current social media governance fails democratic accountability — platforms govern billions without electoral mandate while remaining vulnerable to foreign manipulation.

    EUGovernanceAI & Technology
  52. 25 April 2026

    Should the EU sanction Israel for its attacks on Gaza and Libanon?

    Verdict

    The systematic denial of basic rights to civilian populations creates legitimate grounds for international response that transcends alliance considerations and strategic relationships.

    EUEconomyGeopoliticsWar