The Puzzle State

How to Govern Wicked Problems in Western Democracies
Wicked problems like climate change, inequality and migration stress Western democracies. A journey from London to Washington DC shows how outdated politics disconnect policy from the frontlines. Over 100 interviews reveal that reconnecting leaders to on-ground insights via AI and collective intelligence can transform reform.
The wicked problems of our time - climate change, migration, inequality, productivity, and mental health - remain stubbornly unresolved in Western democracies. It’s time for a new way to puzzle.

This book takes the reader on a journey from London to Berlin, and from Rome to Washington DC and Copenhagen, to discover why modern politics keeps breaking down. We’re tackling twenty-first century problems with twentiethcentury ideas and nineteenth-century institutions.

In search of answers, the author gate-crashes a Conservative party at an English estate, visits a stressed-out German minister at his Mallorcan holiday home, and listens in on power gossip in Washington DC’s restaurant scene. The Puzzle State offers one of the most engaging and thoughtful analyses of Western democracies in recent years. Based on over 100 interviews with top political players, surveys conducted across five countries, and stories of high-profile policy failures, it uncovers a missing link in reform efforts: the absence of ongoing feedback loops between decision-makers and frontline practitioners in schools, hospitals, and companies.

But there is a way forward. The author introduces the concept of the Puzzle State, which uses collective intelligence and AI to (re)connect politicians with the people implementing reforms on the ground. The Puzzle State tackles highprofile wicked problems and enables policies to adapt as they meet messy realities. No one holds all the pieces in the Puzzle State. The feedback loop must cut across all sectors - from civil society to corporations - just like solving a complex puzzle requires commitment, cooperation, and creativity.

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