This year, around half of the global population is invited to the polls. At the same time, democracies feel increasingly fragile. This issue turns its gaze to traditional seats of democratic power such as parliaments, but also to spaces clawed back for public dialogue, and contested for private gain. Architects are key agents in the struggle for democracy: able to critically engage with the world around them by envisioning alternative spaces, heading to the polls and denouncing anti-democratic practices. As Jan-Werner Müller writes in the keynote,‘democracy is not just about elections, but continuous critical questioning.’
