Past Present Future Fixing Democracy: Citizens’ Assemblies
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Sep 21, 2025 Claudia Chwalisz, founder and CEO of Democracy Next, dives into the transformative power of citizens' assemblies to enhance democracy. She explores the origins of sortition and its modern implications, illustrating how randomly selected citizens can tackle pressing political issues. Claudia discusses the importance of trust in assembly design and how these groups can incorporate diverse voices, including non-registered residents. She advocates for adopting these democratic processes beyond politics, envisioning a future where deliberation shapes institutions like universities.
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Democracy's Ancient Roots
- Citizens' assemblies revive ancient democratic DNA like sortition and rotation from Athens.
- Random selection was historically seen as more egalitarian than elections.
Collective Intelligence Beats A Single Expert
- Diverse groups practicing deliberation often outperform single experts on complex questions.
- Condorcet's theorem and collective intelligence underpin citizens' assemblies.
Tradeoffs In Assembly Design
- Assemblies balance size, deliberation time and legitimacy when addressing complex issues.
- Typical sizes range from 30 locally to 150–200 nationally with many days spread over months.