Governance
What makes a state actually work, when should it step in to regulate, and how does it hold together under strain? Confucius, Hannah Arendt, Elinor Ostrom and Ibn Khaldun answer from four very different traditions, separated by centuries. They rarely meet in the middle. Read on to see where they divide.
- Debates
- 38
- Council voices
- 41
- Last debated
- 26 June 2026
The council in action
What would they do about governance?
Each thinker’s concrete moves, drawn straight from their debates.
HA
Hannah Arendt
Explore Arendt →- Protect collective self-governance practices continuously during wartime; do not defer them until after the guns stop.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?
- Prosecute the dismissal of federal prosecutors as institutional hollowing, not routine personnel action.Do Trump's policies and approach to government pose a threat to American democratic institutions?
- Hold individual bureaucrats personally accountable for decisions made under their authority.How can the Dutch bureaucracy better respond to the social problems it currently ignores?
HS
Helmut Schmidt
Explore Schmidt →- Create regulatory frameworks for AI systems before capabilities mature beyond democratic control.Should AI be regulated?
- Build integrated information systems linking federal, state, and European institutional levels.How can Western democracies reduce bureaucracy?
- Establish national AI development programs to reduce dependence on private American and Chinese firms.Should AI be regulated?
EO
Elinor Ostrom
Explore Ostrom →- Build shared data infrastructure and common compute pools using the same design principles that sustained durable common-pool institutions in fisheries and alpine meadows.How can Europe develop AI capabilities while reducing its dependence on the US?
- Establish multiple overlapping monitoring authorities with real power to intervene in tax authority decisions.How can the Dutch bureaucracy better respond to the social problems it currently ignores?
- Create feedback loops that reward accurate case processing over speed metrics.How can the Dutch bureaucracy better respond to the social problems it currently ignores?
IK
Ibn Khaldun
Explore Khaldun →- Treat the populist movement's cohesion as thinner than it appears; probe its internal fractures before conceding institutional collapse.Do Trump's policies and approach to government pose a threat to American democratic institutions?
- Reject procedural fixes alone; invest in institutions that generate solidarity through joint endeavor, not rules.How can the US break the cycle of mutual radicalization in politics?
- Test whether the judiciary, civil service, military, and press retain operative solidarity sufficient for coordinated resistance.Do Trump's policies and approach to government pose a threat to American democratic institutions?
C
Confucius
Explore Confucius →- Maintain official ceremonies, educational institutions, and governance rituals without interruption throughout the period of conflict.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?
- Hold leaders publicly accountable when they claim titles of governance while abandoning the obligations those titles carry.How can the US break the cycle of mutual radicalization in politics?
- Restore public ceremonies and civic rites to formal governance practice, treating them as political substance, not decoration.Is democracy possible without a strong cultural and artistic sphere?
Browse by topic
Recurring dilemmas
Institutions & the state
22 debatesCan the machinery of the state still deliver, and how should it be reformed when it cannot?
- How can the US break the cycle of mutual radicalization in politics?
- Is democracy possible without a strong cultural and artistic sphere?
- 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?
- Do Trump's policies and approach to government pose a threat to American democratic institutions?
- Can capitalism survive an AI-driven economy?
- How can the Dutch bureaucracy better respond to the social problems it currently ignores?
Regulation & its limits
10 debatesWhen should the state step in to regulate, and when does it overreach?
- How can Europe develop AI capabilities while reducing its dependence on the US?
- Can capitalism survive an AI-driven economy?
- Should AI be regulated?
- How can the EU reduce its dependency on US and Chinese AI?
- How can AI companies be regulated without hindering innovation?
- Which global institutions should exist to prevent an arms race in dangerous technologies like AI?
Governing in hard times
3 debatesHow should institutions hold up under war, crisis and deep division?
- 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?
- What actions must be taken today to ensure the future of next generations?
- How do we strengthen democracy?
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