Mini-publics, opportunities and challenges. The cases of Belgium and Ireland ; Minipúblicos, oportunidades y desafíos. Los casos de Bélgica e Irlanda

In recent years, both public institutions and sectors of civil society have used so-called “mini-publics” to combat citizens’ growing apathy towards politics. This paper analyses and explores the opportunities and challenges presented by this way of understanding citizen participation, in which ICT has played a major role. Two specific experiences have been compared: the G1000 in Belgium and the Citizens’ Assemblies in Ireland. Even though the political implementation of the consensual conclusions after the deliberative process ultimately depends on a specific commitment on the part of public... Mehr ...