The contours of participatory democracy in the 21st century

How can we build a more robust participatory and deliberative democracy in our complex societies? In this respect, what role should minipublics play? What does the recent storming of the United States Capitol tell us about the state of our democratic systems? And how can we tackle the challenge of citizen distrust ?

We asked the three eminent scholars Cristina Lafont (Northwestern University), Jane Mansbridge (Harvard University) and Mark Warren (University of British Columbia) to share their analysis on these challenging questions. In an online conversation moderated by André Bächtiger (University of Stuttgart), they reflect on current debates on deliberative and participatory democracy as well as on current political events. 

The conference is linked to the launch of the new Special Issue of the Journal of Deliberative Democracy “Democracy without Shortcuts” and was organized by the ZIRIUS Participation and Deliberation Lab of the University of Stuttgart, the Journal of Deliberative Democracy and the ECPR and APSA Standing Groups of Democratic Innovations.