Deliberative Climate Politics. Comparing Citizens’ Assemblies

• In Event: Empirical Research and Future Directions for Democratic Innovations

Abstract

In addition to the findings on the crisis of representative government, which emphasize the distrust of citizens, the climate crisis is seen as revealing the impotence of this election-based political form. Voices are being raised in the academic, activist, and political fields in favor of using mini-publics drawn by lot to resolve various political issues, in particular climate change.
What is the potential of deliberative mini-publics in addressing climate politics? Can mini-publics democratize democracy and be a powerful tool to fight misinformation and disinformation? Are democratic innovations a way to increase the rights but also the responsibilities of citizens? Or will they fail to be efficient? These questions are becoming more and more pressing as citizens’ assemblies on climate change are being experimented in many countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Spain or the United States (at the State level).
While citizens' assemblies on climate have recently proliferated, it is worth examining their precursor: the Irish Citizens' Assembly (ICA). While this deliberative device proposed the legalization of abortion in 2017, which was approved by referendum, it also addressed climate. It is also useful to compare this pioneer case to the largest climate assembly to date: the French Citizens' Convention for Climate (FCC). Through a long field study, I analyze the ICA's and FCC’s deliberations on climate, and in particular the tension between the power of participating citizens and the control by organizers and experts. We also need to analyze the conditions and impacts of giving under-represented groups an opportunity to participate in shaping public policies. As randomly selected mini-publics reflect the diversity of society, the voices and experiences of traditionally absent social groups lead to new ways of thinking politics and political representation.

Author

• Dimitri Courant, Harvard University