Improving democratic literacy in an age of voter scepticism: can citizens’ assemblies make a difference to constitutional reform?

Citizens’ assemblies are small-scale groups of randomly selected citizens who come together to discuss and decide on an issue of public policy. The aim of this project is to investigate whether they are effective at developing democratic literacy: the knowledge and skills citizens need to deliberate effectively on issues of law reform. Using the recent assemblies conducted in Ireland on marriage equality and abortion as case studies, the project will significantly advance our understanding of how citizens’ assemblies might successfully contribute to developing democratic literacy. Outcomes include an identification of the mechanisms by which citizens’ assemblies influence wider public deliberations and a model for how they could be used to inform deliberation about constitutional reform in Australia.