Mentoring visit lecture – Prof. John Gastil, Pennsylvania State University

06 05 2026

Faculty of Sociology at the University of Warsaw would like to invite to a lecture by Prof. John Gastil entitled “Boosting Democratic Resilience through Better Online Public Engagement: Introducing the Concept of a ‘Democracy Machine’”.

Around the globe, democracy strains under the weight of polarization, misinformation, public distrust, and authoritarian populist movements. Yet democratic systems can become more resilient when citizens have better ways to learn, deliberate, and participate in government decision making. In this lecture, John Gastil suggests how local and regional governments can strengthen democracy through practical reforms. Drawing on lessons from both democratic innovation and online games and tools, Prof. Gastil introduces the idea of deploying a “Democracy Machine.” This digital network of institutions and technologies could help democratic systems withstand shocks by becoming more open, deliberative, and responsive to the needs of their constituents.

John Gastil is a Distinguished Professor at Penn State, where he holds appointments in Communication Arts and Sciences, Political Science, and the School of Public Policy. He has led research supported by the National Science Foundation on election reforms, jury deliberation, and how bias shapes public opinion. Prof. Gastil is one of the leading scholars of deliberative democracy and has published articles and books on the subject for three decades. His talk at the University of Warsaw is adapted from his forthcoming book, Rewiring the Democracy Machine: A Call for Changing How We Govern Ourselves Online, which will be published with open public access in 2027 by Temple University Press.

The event, organised as part of Action I.1.1/IV.1.1 “Mentoring Programme”, will take place on 19.05.2026 at 16:45 at the Faculty of Sociology (Karowa 18) in Room 18 (ground floor). The lecture will be delivered in English.