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User Voice has established councils in more than 25 prisons to try to create space for solution-focused dialogue between residents and staff

Following a rollercoaster general election in which voters called the prime minister Theresa May's bluff and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's approach proved an unexpected success: five ways [...]

A record number of female MPs will take up seats in the House of Commons after more than 200 women were elected in Thursday’s general election

From participatory democracy to local currencies, signs abound that communities are taking power back into their own hands. Our pick of fascinating facts about people coming together

Party politics no longer represents the silent majority, say those behind a new crowdfunding movement, but millions of people want to be involved without joining a political ‘tribe’

Though the US didn’t see a woman elected to the highest office this week, other women running on platforms of equality and progressive reform did win

From a show-of-hands vote to oppose development next to a Philippines slum to internet-enabled democracy in the UK, Martin Wright envisions options for democracy

With half the world’s population expected to be online by 2019, technology could play an important role in getting people more involved in democracy and politics

New democratic government will make peace its top priority, says Aung San Suu Kyi

A new campaign sees election candidates from all parties – and none – making a committed effort to changing the political playing field in favour of those who rely on it the most: the public

There is an ‘unheard third’ of the UK who choose not to vote in general elections. But, argues Simon Pardoe, by turning up at the polls, even to vote 'none', they could help change the system [...]

As we approach May’s general election, Mollie Malone, representative for youth-facing organisation Stand Up Be Counted, asks if politicians are doing enough to engage young voters

Democracy is arguably out of step with the way the world communicates. Could open source software and a so-called parliamentary ‘cyber chamber’ help address this disconnect?

For the first time in decades, a grassroots organisation in Spain has the potential to unseat the country’s major political parties. Could this herald the beginning of a Europe-wide political [...]

Vote for Policies, an online service that allows people to see which party their views most align with, has launched its 2015 edition ahead of the general election in May. The site aims to engage [...]

With the UK boasting 15 million volunteers, Martyn Lewis discusses how citizens are taking society’s problems into their own hands

Thousands of people have supported an initiative that would cap executive pay at 12 times the annual wage of the lowest earner in a company

Burma opens its doors to foreign journalists and relaxes protest laws

Independent analysis from think-tank nef (the new economics foundation) shows that the alternative vote, or AV, would increase the power of the average voter

A Worldwide Democracy Network has been set up to explore new approaches to democracy. "The current situation illustrates, in the most graphic way, the disconnection between our political systems [...]