Using insights from the cognitive & social sciences to build support for democratic ideals, institutional reform, and evidence-based policy.
About Steelman Democracy
Our political landscape has changed, and Americans are demanding more from their leaders and from their democracy. Steelman Democracy aims to help rebuild the social and psychological conditions needed for democratic ideals and anti-authoritarian efforts to gain momentum in the United States and meet these calls for change.
Building support for democratic ideals, institutional reform, and evidence-based policy is more important now than ever before, but these efforts are often undermined by outdated methods and strategies that are holding back even the best-intentioned leaders, organizations, and campaigns.
Steelman Democracy helps these groups reach critical mass by using advanced expertise and practices from the social and cognitive sciences that have been largely untapped in this space. We look at how behavioral factors, like social norms, identities, attitudes, and cognitive biases, are impacting how people think, behave, and respond to information. By using advanced insights from these sciences to help solve problems in the democracy and political sphere, we are expanding the realm of possibility for what progress is possible and how our partners can achieve it.
Our Approach
When we straw man our opposition, it rallies our base but it also rallies them against us.
Pro-democracy and evidence-based groups often straw man unconsciously. Their aims may seem objectively rational, but they are often coded with subtle language patterns and social signals that act on a subconscious level to alienate people who do not already agree with them.
To reach people outside our bubble, we have to be able to see the world as they do. What metaphors and narratives shape their perception? What experiences, identities, beliefs, and moral foundations guide their feelings, thoughts, and actions?
When we understand these cognitive and social factors, we can make a stronger case for pro-democracy reforms and policy.
This approach is called steel man.
Straw Man /verb/ 1. To win support by representing our opposition in an oversimplified or dismissive way
Steel Man /verb/ 1. To win support by engaging with the strongest interpretation of our opposition's views
ORGANIZING
Our organizing work aims to help build the social and psychological conditions needed to strengthen democratic ideals and fight authoritarianism in the U.S. We work directly with the public to help them build individual resistance against authoritarian tactics, mainly psychological resistance, as well as help them identify unique and accessible ways to build support for democratic ideals within their sectors of civil society. We also work with and gather leaders in the democracy space to share ideas, build skills, foster collaboration, and break down industry silos that are hindering progress. Click the button below to see our weekly democracy dispatch/tool.
What We Do
CAMPAIGN, ORG, & LEADER SUPPORT
We help left-leaning and mission-driven organizations, campaigns, and elected leaders get the public support they need to win, move their initiatives forward, and create a stronger democratic future. We use social and cognitive science methods and insights to identify important cognitive, social, and behavioral influences that are often missed by traditional strategy and messaging firms. We work with our partners to identify areas of resistance that are causing barriers to their success and create tailored solutions to these challenges that are informed by an advanced understanding of what makes people think and act the way they do in various contexts. Click the button below to learn more about the services we offer.
THINK TANK
Now is the time for new ideas about democracy and updated political methods to be considered widely. We write pieces for various audiences that introduce and analyze new ideas, perspectives, and methods that bring insights and expertise from the social and cognitive sciences to the democracy and politics fields. We aim to shed new light on how we can do things differently and better if we first understand how people work on a deeper level. Click the button below to see some of our written work.