From the anti-monarchical revolutions of the eighteenth century to the postcolonial emancipations of the twentieth, the modern world witnessed a global tsunami of democracy. Over this “long 20th century,” masses of people around the world gained the right to vote on their own rulers and the principles they wished to be ruled by. Along with this fundamental right came principles of transparency and accountability. Democracies worthy of the name became places not only of popular self-determination but also of enlightenment, where truth and knowledge prevailed. Recent political trends, however, represent a retreat from, or outright rejection of, these modes of self-rule and public reason. The phenomenon goes by many names: democratic backsliding, right-wing populism, competitive authoritarianism. But regardless of the labels, the essential principles of government by, of, and for the people are increasingly contested.
Yet, we are all today citizens of a borderless world in which developments in science and technology have the potential to regulate our lives: our identities and capabilities are shaped in important ways by biotechnologies, datafication, and climate change. But decisions about whether and how the new bio-, geo- and info-technologies should be deployed are, for the most part, taken outside the bounds of national democratic processes. Dominant policy approaches treat the rights, duties, and entitlements of humans as subordinate to the goal of increasing the power, reach, and transformative impacts of technologies such as gene editing, artificial intelligence, and geoengineering. In this sense, science and technology have supplanted constitutional democracy in ordering our lives and, as such, have become ends in themselves.
Our challenge now is to renew the principles of governance that will recenter the human as the agent of self-rule. Our project is composed of two parts: a series of international and interdisciplinary convenings and a concurrent effort to nurture visions of human-centered progress and constitutional governance in a time of rapid and pervasive technological change. These “constitutional convenings” will be held in the United States, France, South Africa, the United Kingdom, India, and Japan during 2026-2028. The project will launch at the Boston Public Library on September 11, 2026, followed by a one-day workshop that will bring together a carefully curated audience of scholars, foundation heads, university administrators, political figures, and members of the public. We are also organizing a public workshop and lecture in Philadelphia with the American Philosophical Society on October 29, 2026 to highlight aspects of the conversation bearing on the role of expertise in democratic politics while engaging the broader public.
The constitutional convenings will coincide with the production of an essay collection, dedicated to themes of progress, the changing nature of the demos, and the role of expertise. We are recruiting an influential and ideologically diverse group of thinkers from academia, policy and politics, industry, the creative arts, and faith communities to articulate their thoughts on one of these three themes. For the duration of the project, the Institute will publish one short essay of approximately 1,500 words every fortnight. A subset of these essays will be expanded to 5000 words, and organised into three volumes of 15-18 contributions each.
Volume I asks what ideas of progress can inspire collective action in the twenty-first century across disparate legal and political cultures on issues ranging from climate change to bioengineering and AI. Volume II invites contributors to reflect on how the cross-border forces of science and technology are remaking ideas of the people and political agency. Volume III reflects on how sweeping technological changes are reshaping both the production of knowledge and civic expectations of what forms of fact-finding and reasoning are legitimate. Contributors will articulate their visions of progress and the implications for human flourishing, political and economic agency, and democratic governance. They will explore foundational ideas of epistemic rights and intergenerational justice that are emerging in global politics.
The project is led by Professor Sheila Jasanoff at Harvard Kennedy School in her capacity as Co-Founder and President of the McQuillan Institute. She is supported by the McQuillan Institute Executive Director, Dr. Makoto Takahashi, the Institute’s 12-member Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), and an editorial advisory committee of scholars in Science and Technology Studies.