Do deliberative, sortition based Citizen Assemblies represent ‘a better way of doing democracy’ (as Renwick claims)? Explain and justify your answer
Amelie Higgins - PO-131
Although citizen assemblies (CA) can be traced back as far as Athenian democracy, it is only from the early 1990s that they have gained momentum, aiding the shift from participatory democracy to deliberative democracy. Citizens assemblies involve deliberation of contemporary issues populating the political agenda by ‘non-politicians’, who are randomly selected from a sample representative of the wider voting demographic. Ireland has been at the forefront of citizens’ assemblies, taking the form of two deliberative mini publics (DMPs). The first, the convention of the constitution, took place in 2012 and deliberated topics such as a review of the Dail electoral system, and provision for same-sex marriage. The wake of this assembly led to the Irish citizen assembly in early 2018 which is most well-known for its recommendation to repeal the 8th amendment, which protected the life of an unborn baby. In September 2017 Alan Renwick directed a citizen’s assembly on Brexit and later published a report claiming sortition based citizen assemblies represent 'a better way of doing democracy'. Despite such positive headlines, citizens' assemblies are not absent from academic debate. Sample selection as well as representation and how outcomes are implemented have been scrutinised in opposition to Renwick’s claim. It is such criticisms of sortition based citizen assemblies that have supported my conclusion that citizen assemblies do not represent 'a better way of doing democracy'. In this essay I will explain and justify my response to Renwick’s claim. To a certain extent, deliberative sortition based citizen assemblies do represent a better way of doing democracy. Through inviting stakeholders and communities to have a direct say in the deliberation process members are likely to feel valued and take ownership to help find solutions. The inclusion of representative parities brings together diverse cognitive sets, which offer unique ideas and different perspectives, ultimately improving the quality of decisions made. Through the inclusion of citizens in the deliberation process, outcome legitimacy is likely to improve. Increased validation of the decisions made will
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