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The purpose of this website is to share research findings from the work of the Regulatory Institutions Network on psychological attributes and social processes essential for effective democratic governance. The website integrates learnings from a number of projects concerned with different facets of governance: taxation, health, workplace safety, school bullying, child protection to name a few.

What do we mean by micro foundations of democratic governance?

Democracy is an institution of governance that is highly valued because it is designed to respect the freedom and rights of individuals. What is often taken for granted, however, are the capacities that individuals need to bring to a democracy for the system to work. These capacities and the processes required for their growth and development in a democratic system are the micro foundations of democratic governance. What capacities of individuals are important? Among the most important individual capacities for democratic governance are expressing defiance constructively, sharing social values around competition and cooperation, sharing trust and hope for a better future, and being able to self-regulate social emotions, in particular, shame and pride.

What governance strategies are important?

Among the most important governance strategies for nurturing such capacities are processes for building capacity and regulating responsively. Building capacity involves creating institutional space where it is safe for individuals to trust and hope together for a better future. Regulating responsively means listening to reasoned arguments, seeking an understanding of defiance wherever it occurs, and unpacking the socially destructive side of the emotions of shame and pride, flipping them to uncover their restorative and respectful side.