Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Professor Stephen ElstubORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
There are a number of significant concerns about the democratic legitimacy of CAs. In this chapter we identify six of the most prominent critiques. Firstly, that members of the public do not have the capacity to engage in meaningful deliberation and decision-making. Secondly, that CAs do not contest power relationships in society. Thirdly, that they are excessively manipulated spaces, with participants having little control over their own agendas. Fourthly, that they are easily co-opted by public authorities and have little policymaking impact. Fifthly, they only include small numbers of participants, and therefore exclude most of the public from deliberation and decision-making. Sixthly, because they are representative, they do not do enough to promote the voice and interests of minorities and marginalized groups. While these problems are significant, we conclude by arguing that CAs can provide democratic value in the right circumstances
Author(s): Elstub S, Khoban Z
Editor(s): Min Reuchamps, Julien Vrydagh and Yanina Welp
Series Editor(s): Stephen Elstub
Publication type: Book Chapter
Publication status: Published
Book Title: De Gruyter Handbook of Citizens’ Assemblies
Year: 2023
Pages: 113-126
Print publication date: 19/06/2023
Online publication date: 31/05/2023
Acceptance date: 06/02/2023
Series Title: Citizens’ Assemblies and Mini-Publics
Publisher: De Gruyter
Place Published: Berlin
URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110758269-011
DOI: 10.1515/9783110758269-011
Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item
ISBN: 9783110758153
