June 27, 2024
KATHMANDU – For several years I have been following the development of deliberative democracy practices that, at bottom line, aim to empower citizens to exercise their agency, their powers well beyond the ballot box.
There is a variety of modalities to do so, including citizens’ assemblies that, for example, can take the shape of deliberative mini-publics where groups of randomly selected citizens come together to discuss topics and issues of great relevance.
They offer solutions through recommendations and in certain cases, even make binding resolutions.
Exactly one year ago, I delved into the issue for this column and I wrote, in quite an aspirational tone, I must admit, the following:
“Southeast Asia could aspire to become a different type of Shangri-La, not only a fulcrum for geopolitics and strategic defense discussions but also the epicenter for a renewal of democracy”.
In that column, I interviewed John S. Dryzek, a centenary professor at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra.
One of my interests was to try to understand how deliberative practices can get to the next level, becoming embedded and mainstreamed in the current liberal systems centered on voting and periodic elections.
“The mainstreaming of deliberative practices and innovations such as mini-publics is fine, but by itself not enough to radically shift the dial when it comes to the deliberative qualities of larger political systems” Dryzek explained.
I still remain quite obsessed to find out what can be done to elevate deliberative practices in a way that they can improve the ways democracy works or even help transform it.
Do not get me wrong: I do believe that it remains essential that academics keep discussing and studying the ways that deliberative democracy can evolve and develop.
A few months ago, the University of Canberra, one of the global pillars of such investigation, organized, together with two peer institutions from Finland, the Abo Akademi University and the University of Turku, the sixth edition of the Deliberative Democracy Summer School.
Its goals are important: “Fostering a safe, supportive and interactive space where participants can present their ongoing work and receive valuable feedback”.
Fortunately, deliberative democracy is also expanding at the grassroots levels with more and more examples of citizens coming together to discuss and deliberate.
Pressing issues like climate change are pushing people to step in and invest their time in deliberative practices.
There is also a multitude of initiatives around the world even if still predominantly in the North.
Organizations like People Powered, DemocracyNext, the Federation for Innovation in Democracy-Europe (FIDE), the newDemocracy Foundation, just to mention a few, are real trailblazers.
Interestingly there is also a big debate going on how deliberative practices should not be seen as a domain of inquiry dominated by the North.
Here the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra is conducting bold research.
For example, Ricardo F. Mendonça, a professor at Federal University of Minas Gerais, and Hans Asenbaum, a senior research fellow at the Centre and Summer School convenor, wrote that “theories of deliberative democracy are grounded in this modern logic and, hence, struggle to challenge deep colonial inequalities”.
Nicole Curato, one of the most prominent scholars on deliberation in the whole Asia Pacific and a professor of political sociology at University of Canberra, is also breaking new ground in the discourse on decolonizing deliberative practices.
As liberal democracies are under stress both in the North and in the South, it is paramount that we go beyond the narrative being shaped only by the industrialized and developed world.
Academics must be supported not only to maintain the theoretical debate about deliberation but they also must be enabled to go beyond their comfort zones.
Can we have more of these academic exercises like the summer school in more universities in developing and emerging nations?
How can scholars of goodwill but at the same time not prominent enough, or those just initiating their discovery journey in the realm of deliberative democracies, be induced and supported to dive into the field?
How can the same academics in such a situation go beyond their university circles?
For example, what about joint exercises between academics and practitioners to talk and discuss deliberative democracy with high school students?
I guess that no one has a clear answer on how to bring deliberative democracy into the mainstream but, as we are witnessing, some steps are being taken.
There is a need to create massive awareness, linking deliberative practices with the much broader and (more generic) domain of civic engagement.
On the other hand, there is a need for smart lobbying to introduce deliberative practices within the existing political elite.
On this point, there have been some victories. For example, deliberative polling, another component of a broader deliberative toolkit, has been successfully used to help amend the constitution of Mongolia.
The fact that we got an Asian democratic nation that certainly is not in the global spotlight, showing the way, is remarkable.
About the future, I wish we could set a deadline by which deliberative practices could be really brought to the mainstream.
Actually, we have one even if we tend to neglect it or we simply forgot it and it is 2030.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 16.6 and 16.7 do talk about something very closely related to deliberation: the former is about “developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels”, while the latter is about “ensuring responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels”.
Perhaps organizing an additional summer school in Ulaanbaatar could be an interesting proposition.
What about Jakarta, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or even in Bandar Seri Begawan? What about a festival of deliberative democratic practices in South Asia, a non-intimidatory platform where academics mingle with practitioners and universities and high school students as curious citizens alike?
Will donors like Australia or the European Union support such initiatives?
Maybe we could even come up with a yearly international award recognizing the best deliberative practices in the Asia-Pacific.
Thinking long term and looking at what is going on around the world, this support would be real value for money.
Meanwhile, a message from the poster summarizing the Canberra summer school’s main takeaways is revealing and inspiring: “Ambition to think positively to imagine possibilities”.
This is what all those caring for democracy should possess. After all, it is still possible to imagine 2030 as the year when deliberative practices will really take off in the Asia Pacific and beyond.