the democracy center
thirty two years of making activism matter
Democracy is the right of all people to understand and
influence the issues that shape their lives.
Since its founding more than thirty years ago, The Democracy Center has been dedicated to a single mission: To support activists around the world who are fighting for social justice and a healthy planet. We have served that mission by training activists in the art of advocacy, leading winning campaigns at the local to the global level, and through our award-winning writing.
New from the Democracy Center, two new tools for making your advocacy more powerful!
OUR NEW BOOKLET: THE ART OF ADVOCACY STRATEGY
A small book about how to make big change! A step by step guide to developing an effective strategy, drawn from more than three decades of work with activists across the US and five continents.
View or download the best version for reading.
View or download the best version for printing.
OUR NEW SELF-GUIDED ON-LINE COURSE: INCLUDING WORKSHOP EXCERCISES AND MORE.
top stories
How the Democracy Center’s founder and executive director became the explainer of Trump Land to the rest of the country.
What a small town in far western New York tells us about the communities that helped make Donald Trump the U.S. President, and will decide if he wins a second term.
A special report on the tragic downfall of Bolivia’s first indigenous president.
A district in New York has adopted the technology in the name of safety. Opponents cite privacy and bias concerns.
International corporations are decimating nature, destroying lives and manipulating opinion. Here's how to stop them.
A look at how communities all across the U.S. are surrounded by ‘socialism’.
MAKING AN IMPACT
Some examples of the Democracy Center’s own advocacy in action.
the democracy center on campus
In 2024 the Democracy Center’s founder and executive director, Jim Shultz, accepted an appointment as adjunct faculty at UC Berkeley teaching a new course on advocacy strategy in the School of Public Health.
TerraJusta, launched in April 2020, grew out of the work of The Democracy Center in Latin America over several years. TerraJusta accompanies and supports organizations and communities fighting for social, economic and environmental justice, especially those affected by extractive industry projects in Latin America. Terra Justa is based in Bolivia and has staff in Ireland and the UK. Read more about their work here.