Polity Atlas
05 · Future Observatory

Watching society transform

Research, technology shifts, AI governance, post-labour economics and digital statehood — each item tagged with its status and the claims it changes.

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2026-05-22NewsNew York City's participatory budgeting draws a record voteIn the City Council's fifteenth participatory budgeting cycle, nearly 130,000 New Yorkers in 22 Council districts voted from 11 to 19 April 2026 on how to allocate almost $25 million; the Council called it the highest vote since the programme began in 2011.New York City CouncilEstablished2025-11-23NewsFrench citizens' convention on children's time adopts 20 proposalsOn 23 November 2025 the 133 randomly selected members of France's Convention citoyenne sur les temps de l'enfant, organised by the CESE at the President's request, adopted a final report with 20 proposals, including a 9 a.m. school start for adolescents and a ban on social media before 15.Conseil économique, social et environnemental (CESE)Established2025-07-03NewsInter-American Court recognises Nature as a subject of rightsIn Advisory Opinion OC-32/25, adopted on 29 May 2025 and notified on 3 July 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights states that recognising Nature as a subject of rights is compatible with the inter-American system.Inter-American Court of Human RightsEstablished2025-02-26NewsICSID tribunal lets the Próspera arbitration against Honduras proceedOn 26 February 2025 the tribunal in Honduras Próspera Inc. v. Honduras rejected Honduras' objection that local remedies had not been exhausted. It is a ruling on admissibility, not on the merits.International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)Established2024-10-01NewsHonduras' Supreme Court rules ZEDE framework unconstitutionalThe 2024 ruling removes the legal basis on which Próspera and other ZEDEs were created; their future now runs through politics and international arbitration.Corte Suprema de Justicia de HondurasEstablished