Germany is world champion of citizens' assemblies

30. October 2024

In Germany, municipalities, federal states and, most recently, the Bundestag are increasingly turning to sortition-based citizens‘ assemblies. This is shown in the report "Citizens” Assemblies in Germany", which the NGO Mehr Demokratie and the Institute for Democracy & Participation Research at the University of Wuppertal (IDPF) presented to the public on 30 October 2024. It is the first of its kind and is based on a new database that records sortition-based participation procedures.

‘Nowhere in the world are there more sortition-based citizens‘ assemblies than here,’ says project leader Prof. Detlef Sack, Chair of Political Science at the University of Wuppertal. The report covers 322 cases (of which 17 are in the preparation phase) since 1972, when the first randomly selected body was called a ‘planning cell.’ As for the number of sortition-based citizens' assemblies, there has been an explosion in the 2020s. While an average of six mini-publics took place in Germany each year in the 2010s, the figure was almost 30 per year in 2020 to 2023. “Eighty per cent of them at the municipal level,” says Sack.

Frequency and topics

In a comparison of the federal states, North Rhine-Westphalia currently has 75 mini-publics, ahead of Baden-Württemberg with 67 citizens‘ assemblies and Bavaria with 40 cases. Among municipalities, Berlin has 25 mini-publics in districts and neighbourhoods, ahead of Munich with eight and Bochum with six.

The most common topic of citizens' assemblies is urban planning. This is not surprising given that around 80 per cent of all cases take place at the local level. Other important topics include infrastructure, sustainability, social affairs, the environment, construction, citizen participation, climate and transport.

Citizens‘ assemblies have proven themselves in practice

‘Germany is the world champion of sortition-based participation,’ says Claudine Nierth, federal spokesperson of Mehr Demokratie. 'Citizens’ assemblies are popular and have proven themselves in practice. They provide answers and contribute to the resolution of political conflicts. Citizens' assemblies enable constructive processes on controversial issues and increase satisfaction among citizens and politicians.’

At the federal level, there has been one citizens‘ assembly so far, appointed by the Bundestag (’Nutrition in Transition‘), which ended at the end of January 2024. In addition, there were nine federal mini-publics organised by federal ministries or civil society actors, and almost 20 at the state level. The database team is constantly recording new citizens‘ assemblies and previously unknown cases.

Permanent citizens‘ assemblies

Citizens’ assemblies are increasingly taking place not only as one-off projects, but also as an institution. Institutionalisation refers to the formal regulation and continuation of randomly-selected citizens‘ committees and the assignment of certain tasks to them. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the permanent citizens’ assembly in Aachen. Its establishment was decided by the city council in 2022. The aim is to regularly consult with residents, who are repeatedly randomly selected, on ever-changing topics. While in 2023 the topic was making Aachen more attractive as a shopping destination, in 2024 the topic is family friendliness. In Lüneburg, the city council had also decided on 19 September 2024 to convene citizens' assemblies on a regular basis.

Both municipalities are following the international model of the permanent citizen dialogue in the German-speaking Community of East Belgium. There, five randomly-selected citizens‘ assemblies on various topics have already taken place since 2020. Residents can propose topics. A randomly-selected citizens’ council decides on the topics to be discussed and also determines the framework for the citizens‘ assemblies. The basis of the procedure is a law that also regulates how the recommendations of the citizens’ assemblies are dealt with.

What is a citizens’ assembly?

The study uses the term ‘citizens’ assembly‘ to refer to procedures with different names. Sometimes they are called citizens’ assemblies, sometimes citizens‘ forums, sometimes citizens’ dialogues, sometimes future dialogues. But they always have four things in common: firstly, the participating residents are randomly selected. Secondly, they discuss a political topic. Thirdly, the deliberations take place in the form of group discussions. Fourthly, the participants present substantive results, usually in the form of recommendations, often in the form of a citizens‘ report.

For example, the federal citizens’ assembly ‘Nutrition in Transition’ developed nine recommendations, including the introduction of free lunches in kindergartens and schools. Its citizens' report comprised a good 50 pages.

How it all began

It all started in Germany with the first planning cells in Schwelm in 1972. For one afternoon, randomly selected residents discussed in small groups whether household waste was better disposed of in rubbish bins or rubbish bags.

The democratic instrument was invented by Professor Peter Dienel. In 1968/69, the sociologist, who died in 2006, was a member of the planning staff of the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Heinz Kühn. There he realised that politicians have no interest in long-term solutions. ‘Top politicians are in love with short-term solutions,’ he explained in retrospect in an interview conducted with his son Max in 2001. In this respect, planning cells are ‘an innovation that tackles problems that exist worldwide’.

People learn quickly

In mini-publics, the focus is on the ‘other 90 percent’ who, unlike people with a political mission or people who get involved because something bothers them, are not politically active.

In his planning cells, Dienel has learned that people learn quickly in situations they define as an emergency. ‘Everyone is fascinated by the task, learning, grasping for information and constantly talking about it. The small groups don't take a coffee break, but bring the coffee into the group and make informed suggestions,’ Dienel describes his observation. ‘When people see that it's about a completely new opportunity, they're usually on board immediately.’

‘Taking action as the owner of the state’

For the sociologist, randomly selected citizens' committees were “a new opportunity for people to be able to become active for their state.” They create system trust for the whole of society. It is about “taking action as the owner of the state”. To do this, the participants are released from their other work and receive financial compensation for their participation.

Dienel dreamed of millions of people going through such processes each year. But he also knew that ‘it will take a long time to implement.’ Fifty years after the first planning cells, the seeds are now slowly coming up. Dienel's legacy includes the Research Centre for Citizens‘ Participation and Planning Procedures that he founded at the University of Wuppertal. Today, it is known as the Institute for Democracy and Participation Research, which co-authored the Citizens’ Assembly report and built the Citizens' Assembly database.

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