The Dangers of Pre-Setting Terms of Debate for Citizens Assemblies

In this episode we’re discussing elections, referenda, and how to fix our democracy, with none other than our long-time podcast host, Alan Renwick. In his inaugural lecture, Alan described democracy as rule for, and by, all, and suggested that the UK’s democratic system is falling short of that ideal. We discuss three suggested "fixes": electoral reform, improving citizen's access to reliable information, and the use of citizen's assemblies.

One of the central commitments in Prof Alan Renwick’s work is to the importance of the citizen, and our role in the democratic process. He is a leading expert on citizens assemblies, and his fourth book, Deliberative Mini-Publics examines how these can contribute to the policy process and even revitalise democracy. Most recently, Alan’s research examines the public’s attitudes about democracy, and democratic institutions, post Brexit. 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Democracy in the UK after Brexit.  The Constitution Unit, UCL
• Deliberative Mini-Publics: Core Design Features. Alan Renwick, Nicole Curato, David Farrell, Brigitte Geissel, Kimmo Grönlund, Patricia Mockler, Jean-Benoit Pilet, Jonathan Rose, Maija Setälä and Jane Suiter.
• A Citizen's Guide to Electoral Reform.

UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.