Allotted citizens' assemblies: how and why they work

A guide on how sortition-based citizens’ assemblies work and why they strengthen democratic legitimacy.

This brochure introduces allotted citizens’ assemblies — randomly selected groups of people who deliberate together on important public issues — as a powerful tool for renewing democracy. It explains how these assemblies bring together diverse citizens in a safe, well-facilitated environment to generate thoughtful, informed recommendations. Key advantages include more inclusive participation, greater public trust, reduced influence of lobbyists, and deeper democratic legitimacy. The guide includes international case studies from Ireland, Belgium, Canada, France, and Germany, outlines step-by-step planning guidance, and provides evidence from research that such assemblies improve the quality of democratic decisions. It is a call for adopting sortition as a complementary democratic instrument to face today's complex challenges.

Source: Mehr Demokratie e.V.
Author information: Anne Dänner & Roman Huber
Language: English, German

Year of publication: 2019