Scholars have long emphasised that democracy thrives on political participation – but should participation be forced? A fundamental aspect of democracy is that citizens who are impacted by ...

Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley said she would consider making voting in council elections mandatory if voter turnout did not improve. As of Thursday, about 26 per cent of enrolled voters had ...

The last few years have been huge for sapphic representation in pop culture, from stars like Reneé Rapp and Gabby Windey coming out as lesbian to Chappell Roan blessing us with queer banger after ...

In Define Ventures’ AI investing thesis, released Thursday, the health tech venture fund outlines a vision of artificial intelligence readiness to reengineer healthcare. It’s investing in founders ...

Does compulsory drug treatment even work? That was the challenge on critics’ minds last week after New York City mayor Eric Adams announced a new proposal to compel the city’s addicts into treatment.

Welcome to openDemocracy’s weekly reader comments round-up. This is an opportunity for us to showcase some of the many carefully considered messages we receive on a range of topics. These comments are ...

When diving into financial planning, especially in relation to retirement, you’ll often come across the term “funds.” But here’s the thing – these funds don’t all serve the same purpose. Whether ...

KUALA LUMPUR: A bill to amend the Education Act and make secondary schooling compulsory has been tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (July 28). The Education (Amendment) Bill 2025 was presented for ...

The idea of bringing back compulsory military service in Germany is controversial, not least because some business leaders fear this could harm the economy. The German economy cannot cope with young ...

Welcome to openDemocracy’s weekly reader comments round-up. This is an opportunity for us to showcase some of the many carefully considered messages we receive on a range of topics. These comments are ...

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has withdrawn a bill that aimed to make voting mandatory for all eligible Nigerians. The bill, which he co-sponsored with Daniel Asama Ago, ...

The House of Representatives was divided on Thursday over a bill seeking to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to make voting compulsory for all Nigerians of voting age in national and state elections. The ...