Event: Power from the People? Citizens' Assemblies in the UK and Ireland

Citizens’ assemblies (CAs) and other deliberative processes have witnessed a renaissance – a ›deliberative turn‹ – in recent years in the UK and Ireland. Likely a response to the recent political turmoil of Brexit, the progressive surge of 2017 and generational divides, CAs are increasingly called upon to fill a democratic gap. The problem with their implementation remains the interaction with existing representative systems. Using first hand perspectives, this paper examines the advantages of initiatives in the UK and Ireland, as well as the challenges they face.

Frances Foley's report on Citizens' Assemblies in the UK and Ireland is a contribution to the discussion on the impact that CAs have already had, their interactions with political decision-making, and the future of the democratic instrument. The report can be found here.

We were joined by

Frances Foley, Deputy Director of Compass and author of the report

Alan Renwick, Professor of Democratic Politics and Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit

Johanna Lutz, Director of the FES Democracy of the Future think-tank in Vienna