Intergenerational Foresight 2026

coexistence of supranational, national and subnational governance shows that institutions can embed longer-term perspectives without sacrificing democratic legitimacy. Wales’s Future Generations framework illustrates how intergenerational responsibility can be institutionalized through clear duties and accountability mechanisms.7 More broadly, this challenge questions the idea that progress is defined by accumulation and control. Reframing leadership as stewardship provides a governance model better suited to addressing climate risks, technological acceleration, and geopolitical uncertainty. Incorporating temporal sovereignty into democratic innovations, such as citizens’ assemblies, youth councils, and deliberative futures processes, enhances legitimacy by ensuring decision-makers consider long-term impacts alongside current needs. In this view, legitimacy is earned not by the extent of control exercised by governance today, but by the extent of choice preserved for future generations. Intergenerational Foresight: An Approach for Long-Term Responsibility in Governance 14