Addressing the challenges facing democracy today
Raghu Rai. Local commuters at Church Gate railway station. Mumbai. 1995
Around the world, democracies confront serious challenges, old and new.
These range from enduring challenges, such as enhancing civic participation, political representation and democratic accountability, to confronting the ramifications of digital technologies, rising social inequalities and shifting power relations in the evolving international order. The Jarislowsky Democracy Chair pursues critical research and collaborative partnerships that advance public understanding and explore practical innovations to meet these imperatives.
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What’s New
1 October 2026
TPL and Toronto Metropolitan University present Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Jill Lepore in conversation with Sanjay Ruparelia at the Toronto Reference Library's Appel Salon.
As Professor of American History at Harvard University and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, Jill Lepore brings her rare gift for narrative history to one of the most urgent questions of our time: has democracy already been quietly replaced by rule of a different kind, one governed not by citizens, but by machines owned by corporations?
Upcoming Event! Jill Lepore: The Artificial State
27 July 2026
On July 20, tens of thousands of students marched on parliament from Jantar Mantar, a famed protest site in the heart of New Delhi. Their demand: the resignation of the Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, for failing to protect the integrity of national medical school entrance exams in May. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government sent emissaries to talk with the putative leaders of the protests, the Cockroach Janata Party, which began as a satirical online meme two months ago.