Citizen Deliberation in Germany: Lessons from the 'Bürgerrat Demokratie'

Abstract

This article explores the capacity of randomly-selected, citizen deliberation procedures to deliver on their promise to generate inclusive and considered citizen judgements, connecting these to political authority and the broader public sphere. These 'mini-publics' are increasingly adopted in representative democratic systems. Germany is no exception and has been at the forefront of this trend. The article begins with a historical overview of citizen deliberation in Germany, followed by in-depth analysis of the pioneering case of the Bürgerrat Demokratie. This analysis shows mini-publics can produce more inclusive and considered citizen input into policy-making than self-selected participation, but highlights the need for attitudinal stratification in participation selection if mini-publics are to represent politically alienated citizens. Furthermore, it details how the Bürgerrat Demokratie's combination of an innovative, four-phase process design with civil society campaign expertise holds lessons for connecting citizen deliberation to both political authority and the public sphere without institutionalising the process.