Institute for Decentralized Governance

The Institute for Decentralized Governance (IDG) is the research arm of Startup Societies Foundation. It studies special jurisdictions and other small-scale experiments in governance, with a focus on how institutional design can inform public policy.

The research considers legal frameworks, economic incentives and the ways communities organize decisions and resolve disputes. Its published resources include the Journal of Special Jurisdictions, policy papers and working papers for researchers, policymakers and people studying new governance models.

Start with the Journal

Issue VI (2025): Theory, Practice & Stability examines legal foundations, autonomy and the long-term design of special jurisdictions. Earlier issues cover topics including non-territorial governance, Honduran ZEDEs and governance experiments in the United States.

Explore the research collections

• Policy papers: published resources on special international zones, digital trade and refugee cities.
• Working papers: the Better Practices Report by Mark Frazier and Joseph McKinney, alongside research on prosperity zones and digital governance.

These collections include earlier work published under IDG’s former name, the Institute for Competitive Governance. Publication dates and the status of individual proposals should be read in their original context.