About us
Our Mission & Vision
The Solonian Democracy Institute was founded in 2017 to research and to further understanding of alternative democratic practices.
In particular, the Institute looks at ways to deepen participation beyond elections and to substantially increase the number of people meaningfully involved in political decision-making. The Solonian Democracy Institute also investigates inter-disciplinary issues that have a bearing on democracy, such as economic equality.
Our Inspiration
The Institute takes its name from Solon, the statesman who ushered in reforms that created the foundations for the development of democracy in ancient Athens. Solon is also credited with uttering many wise sayings, among them our slogan:
Justice, even if slow, is sure.
Our Essence
The Institute has a strong focus on the history of alternative democratic practice. What differentiates the Institute is our understanding of the term democracy which is derived from the ancient Greek word demokratia, itself composed of the words demos and kratos – people power.
Putting political power in the hands of the people is at the centre of everything we do.
Our People
Founder & Director
Roslyn Fuller
Dr. Roslyn Fuller has been studying the history of democracy, democracy and international institutions, and alternative practices in democracy for over a dozen years. She is the author of, among others, Beasts and Gods: How Democracy Changed its Meaning and Lost its Purpose (nominated for an Orwell Prize in 2016). She contributes frequently to the media on issues of democratic innovation and reform, including BBC, LA Review of Books, Irish Times, RT, The Nation, Forbes, Salon and Alternet.
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Roslyn has a background in law, particularly International Law, and is fluent in English and German. She lives in Ireland.
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Focus Areas: Ancient Athenian Democracy, International Institutions, Electoral Systems, Mass Digital Participation, Pay-for-Participation, Money in Media and Politics
Advisory Board
Renny Rueda
Renny Rueda Castañeda holds a PhD from the Faculty of Economy and Social Sciences of the University of Hamburg, Germany. He is an economist, and studied Government, Management and Public Affairs (Externado Univ. COL. Columbia Univ. NY), Economic Indicators Analysis (Berkeley Ext. USA) with an MA in International Law and International Relations (Complutense University. Madrid. SP). Renny is a founder of E-codemocracy, an organization that aims to enhance action on technological, science-based and decentralized democracies, as well as the effects of the current global institutional architecture over autonomous domestic political processes.
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Focus Areas: Asymmetric governance architectures on the process of construction of norms at the domestic and the international level; problems derived from the institutional approach to individual interaction and social coordination on late modern social systems
Advisory Board
Jonathan Crock
Jonathan Crock is an expert in innovations in democratic participation and the problem of democracy deficits in global governance. He teaches at George Washington University in Washington, DC (USA) and is an international law scholar at Leiden University (Netherlands).
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Jonathan has previously worked on democracy and governance reform in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa, Pakistan, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, including at the U.S. Institute of Peace, U.S. Department of State, and on U.S. presidential and statewide political campaigns.
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Focus areas: Citizens’ Assemblies, Citizens’ Juries, Participatory Democracy, Democratic Global Governance, Economic Democracy, Workplace Democracy, Human Rights Law
Advisory Board
Brook Manville
Brook Manville holds a PhD (Yale) in history and is a former consulting and management partner of McKinsey & Company. Brook is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and is the author of Judgement Calls: Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams That Got Them Right, A Company of Citizens: What the World’s First Democracy Teaches Leaders About Creating Great Organizations and The Origins of Citizenship in Ancient Athens.
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He previously served as Executive Vice President of the United Way of America
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Focus Areas: Leadership Development, Organizational Learning, Knowledge Management
Advisory Board
Tom Hill
Tom Hill is a UK-based ecological economist with expertise in pluralist approaches to decision making. He has provided consultancy advice to a range of Governments and businesses on how to use market-based, regulatory and democracy-led interventions to achieve sustainable outcomes.
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Tom previously worked for the Institute for Public Policy Research in the United Kingdom, where he led the Institute’s research in relation to democratic responses to the climate crisis.
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Focus areas: Ecological Economics, Just Transition, Climate Change, Sustainability, Economic Democracy, Pluralist Decision Making