UVa’s Sabato creates democracy initiative

Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, is creating a new international initiative aimed at enhancing dialogue among citizens of democracies worldwide.
“Though all democratic governments vary, each one ultimately depends on citizen participation to survive,” Sabato said in the release. “If we expect citizens to participate in the serious game of democracy, then they must first understand and appreciate the rules of democracy.”

Called the Global Perspectives on Democracy, the new initiative will “foster citizen-to-citizen dialogue among the United States and other democratic societies around the world,” the release said.
In partnership with the State Department and other governmental and non-governmental organizations, the new initiative will identify groups of international citizens to participate in either in-country workshops or citizen-exchange trips to the United States.

The immersion program will focus participants on core aspects of citizen participation within democratic societies, such as the foundational principles of democracy and representative government, the release said.
Sabato is in London this week delivering a series of lectures, in addition to meeting with members of the British Parliament, the Foreign Press Association and speaking to UVa alumni living in the United Kingdom.

“A major goal of this new international initiative is to assist marginalized citizens in particular, in utilizing the tools of their democracy to better appreciate the system and benefit more directly from it,” he said.
An author of more than 20 books, Sabato founded the Center for Politics in 1998 to improve civic education and citizen participation in politics.