Sortition-oriented
Since the end of the 2010s, the number of randomised participation formats such as citizens' assemblies and citizens' forums has risen significantly - by 2025, over 50 procedures had already been carried out. In addition to prominent examples, such as the Bundestag's first citizens' assembly on the topic of nutrition, more and more political levels are regularly using these formats and creating their own structures and rules for them.
This trend is reinforced by several factors: a growing need for political participation, experiences with conflicts such as Stuttgart 21, a loss of trust in politics and populist escalation, as well as social crises and questions about the future that require new forms of political decision-making.
However, the increasing importance of randomised participation raises new questions: What long-term role can citizens' assemblies play in the political system? What legal and organisational framework conditions are needed for this? And what steps can be taken in the short, medium and long term? The paper 'Sortition-oriented: How citizens can become part of politics again' provides answers to these questions by identifying five development approaches and possible future paths.
The paper was developed as part of the interdisciplinary research project lospfade in cooperation with Dr Felix Petersen (University of Münster) and Prof. Dr Daniela Winkler (University of Stuttgart) and funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.