Western democracy is challenged by a crisis of public confidence owing to a number of factors - historical, ideological, and social - making for profound discontent and readiness to embrace radical alternatives. Beyond this ongoing crisis in the present, there is a second wave of even more profound challenges, owing in large part to the unatnticipated consequences of morally detached technollogies, including nuclear energy, carbon-based energy, artificial biology, and suddenly, the birth of artificial intelligence. Individually, these are nearly - but not yet completely - beyond control. A general breakdown into a chaotic condition is possible, but not inevitable. Avoiding that requires a revived social contract between leaders and people, based essentially on new awareness of the issues, an apolitical dialogue over responses, and ways to buttress public support for democracy. In this context, anticipatory governance should be central to restore the genuine social discourse and public trust in democracy.
Sheila Ronis and Leon Fuerth: Anticipatory Governance for Democracy
- Date
- 6 June 2024
- Time
- 12:00-13:00 CET
- Location
- OECD Headquarters, Paris
Summary
Speakers
Sheila Ronis
President, of The University Group Partners LLC
Sheila Ronis is President of the University Group Partners, LLC, a management consulting firm, and think tank specialising in strategic management, visioning, leadership, national security and public policy. She retired as Distinguished Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Complex and Strategic Decisions at Walsh College. Dr. Ronis is teaching the capstone of the online Masters in Public Affairs and Leadership programme at the Ohio State University John Glenn College of Public Affairs. She currently serves as an Argonne National Laboratory University of Chicago Associate. Dr. Ronis is an active member of the Federal Foresight Community of Interest in Washington D.C. where she and Professor Leon Fuerth also support the broader federal government and global foresight communities and Anticipatory Governance for Democracy.
Leon Fuerth
Founder and Director, The Project on Forward Engagement
Leon Fuerth's career in government spanned thirty years, including positions in the State Department, House and Senate staff, and the White House. His most recent government service was as Vice President Gore's National Security Advisor for the eight years of the Clinton Administration, where he served on the Principals' Committee of the National Security Council and the National Economic Council, alongside the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the President's own National Security Advisor. After retiring from government service at the conclusion of the Clinton Administration, Professor Fuerth came to the George Washington University at the Elliott School of International Affairs. In addition, from 2011-2013 , he served as a Distinguished Research Fellow at the National Defense University. He served as Practitioner in Residence at the George Washington University's Institute for Global and International Studies from 2013-2016. From 2018-2020, Professor Fuerth Served as a co-researcher on The Project on Foresight and Democracy funded by Rockefeller Brothers Fund and is currently working with Dr. Sheila Ronis on Anticipatory Governance for Democracy.