Overcoming Fragmentation and Navigating Uncertainty
Towards a Shared Strategy for Democratic Renewal
By Brendan Halloran
The Challenge
Democracy in the United States is under significant threat on multiple fronts. This is driven by deliberate actions and decisions of key actors, yet many of the underlying causes of the democratic decline are structural and systemic. There are upcoming critical junctures — for example, around the integrity and legitimacy of elections this year and in 2028 — but the effort to safeguard and ultimately to strengthen and renew democracy will be a long-term process.
A broad range of civic actors working from community to national level to defend and strengthen US democracy at this moment of crisis. Each of these is making an important contribution. But it is hard to say that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A lack of coordination and collaboration around broadly shared aims undermines the coherence needed to navigate this critical juncture. The Renew American Democracy (RAD) Strategy proposes a framework for more alignment and complementary effort across the diverse range of pro-democracy actors, ranging from defending democratic institutions under threat to advancing innovation and reform for systemic renewal. The RAD Strategy recognizes that working on isolated issues and efforts will be insufficient to shift the complex system that shapes democratic governance in our country.
Many observers have warned of the silos and fragmentation in the US pro-democracy ecosystem. Scott Nakagawa of the 22nd Century Initiative points to an “ideological traffic jam” of diverse ideas and frameworks undermining coherent collective action. The Democracy Notes 2025 Trends Report highlighted the lack of shared understanding and approaches leading to silos and uncertainty.
Factors limiting the coherence of efforts that are broadly aligned in seeking to advance democratic renewal include:
Ideological, strategic and issue-based differences;
Geographical isolation along local, state and regional lines;
Funding, organizational and project silos and the disincentives they generate for collaboration;
Lack of dedicated resources and platforms to enable coordination and collaboration.
Observers point to disconnects between those working to defend democracy and those working to reimagine and reform it. Other gaps exist between national and local, place-based efforts. All these efforts are needed and could be more complementary.
As someone who spent many years working in international development assistance, this situation feels all too familiar. I saw how “project” and “solution” mentalities and modalities led to isolated efforts that were often unable to make meaningful or sustained progress on “wicked problems” like climate change, systemic corruption and strengthening emerging democracies. Gradually, and unevenly, many actors realized they needed to shift from projects and solutions to systems change.
From Projects and Solutions to Systems Change
Systems change requires that organizations --- from funders to grassroots civic actors --- think about their approaches and contributions very differently. Challenging problems don’t necessarily need the best “solution,” much less a relatively short-term project, but rather a sustained collective effort to shift the system holding that problem in place.
Similarly, there is no “solution” to the erosion of democracy in the United States, but it will require a coherent and collective effort to shift the system from one that promotes further weakening and crisis to dynamics that foster strengthening and renewal. This entails efforts to block authoritarian actions by the current government, strengthen civic engagement in communities across the country, and imagine and advance innovations and reforms to our democratic systems, among other things.
This is the basic premise of the RAD Strategy: we need collective, coherent and complementary efforts across blocking, bridging, belonging, building and movement strengthening. The RAD Strategy acknowledges the many diverse pro-democracy actors and efforts underway, but encourages the enabling and exploration of connection, coordination and collaboration. Continuing to work on these areas in silos and in isolation will be insufficient to shift the complex system that shapes democratic governance in our country.
Nakagawa’s “watershed” metaphor of ideologically, geographically and thematically distinctive organizational “springs” feeding into a broadly shared strategic “river” of aligned and coherent civic action is one framing of how to advance the RAD Strategy’s broad approaches from blocking to building.
We don’t expect that this will be easy. Even when organizations have relatively aligned vision and goals, that doesn’t necessarily lead to a coherent ecosystem and synergistic collective action. Coordination and collaboration are not free or automatic. We must actively enable and steward them.
Beyond the conceptual and strategic, other enabling factors and catalysts are needed for sustained collaboration. There is a need to balance organic and structured approaches to weaving together strong ecosystems that can engage in common purpose. These might include:
A bigger “we” and a bigger “why” — leveraging shared identity and purpose that transcends individuals, communities and organizations;
Shared strategic frameworks like the RAD strategy and others using the block, bridge, and build framing;
Intentional platforms and spaces for connection and alignment;
Resources dedicated to enabling coordination and collaboration;
Organizational and individual connectors, weavers and stewards who hold the ecosystem together and unlock synergies;
Relationships and trust — across different actors — built through ongoing cycles of collaboration;
Collaborative management of shared civic resources and platforms.
One emerging example of a more coherent civic ecosystem working across belonging, bridging and building is that of Washington state. Coalitions and platforms like the Economic Justice Alliance, Thriving Together Civic Innovation Network, Civic Commons and others are undertaking multi-actor collaboration, deep engagement with communities, and democratic innovation (such as community assemblies). This suggests an emerging ecosystem of complementary actors and approaches more likely to contribute to meaningful and sustained change.
Strategy in complexity
Pro-democracy strategizing is also challenged by the high degree of complexity of the democratic crisis and unknowns about the political context going forward. The current administration, political parties, other elected officials, diverse media groups and influencers, non-partisan actors, and different segments of the broader public could each take actions that would individually and collectively alter the trajectory of democratic decline or renewal in profoundly different or contradictory directions.
Democracy-focused organizations are responding to the current crisis and uncertainty in diverse ways. Some are radically pivoting while others are staying the course. Some are in “permanent action” mode while others are paralyzed by continuous restrategizing. Most are “muddling through” as best they can, trying to make a positive contribution while lacking sufficient clarity whether and how that can best be achieved. Each organization is forced to figure it out on its own.
The RAD Strategy does not offer a roadmap for organizations to follow; rather, it suggests a compass for the uncertain journey of democratic reform and renewal. It must be a “living” strategy that is adapted through the collective efforts and insights of organizations across the ecosystem. We hope that the RAD Strategy provides an opportunity to reflect on both organizational and collective approaches to the broader goals of protecting, strengthening and renewing democratic governance.
The RAD Strategy acknowledges that efforts to address both the immediate manifestations and the longer-term contributing factors will need to be strategic and adaptive to have a meaningful and sustainable impact on the country’s democratic trajectory. The challenges to democracy are complex and systemic in nature, and they are evolving rapidly in real time. Thus, pro-democracy actors need to be able to revise and adapt their strategies and approaches based on rapid analysis of the evolving context, flexible assessment of progress and limitations, and continuous reflection and learning.
Indeed, I’ve written elsewhere that now is the time for democracy funders and organizations to invest in strengthening their strategic and learning capacities and practices, both for individual organizations and collectively. I believe that a systems-aware strategy, impact, and learning processes and practices can both enable collaborative efforts and strengthen their effectiveness. This is particularly true for organizations and coalitions navigating complex reform processes and contexts.
The RAD strategy encourages pro-democracy organizations and coalitions to reflect on the collective effort and alignment needed to protect, strengthen and renew American democracy. However, there is a need to continue to invest in coordination and collaboration, as well as adaptive strategic and learning capacities and practices, across the ecosystem. Ultimately, pro-democracy actors are seeking to understand, navigate and shift a complex system of governance, and require the frameworks, platforms, resources and relationships to do that more collectively, coherently and effectively.
Brendan Halloran advises and facilitates strategy and learning for organizations, coalitions and networks tackling complex governance challenges.