Shows
Real Democracy Now! a podcastThe Paris Citizens' AssemblyIn this bonus episode, I talk with Anouch Toranian, the Deputy Mayor of Paris, Yves Dejaeghere, the Executive Director of the Federation for Innovation in Democracy, Europe and Claudia Chwalisz, leader of innovation in citizen engagement with the OECD about the design and establishment of the Paris Citizens' Assembly. The Paris Citizens' Assembly was established in 2021 with 100 Parisians representing the diversity of the city of Paris. The Assembly is charged with evaluating past programs or policies, setting up citizens' juries and determining the topic for Paris' annual participatory budgeting process. The Assembly is unique in...
2021-12-3139 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast3.8 New Zealand's Electoral System with Therese ArseneauIn episode eight of season three of the podcast, I'm speaking with Therese Arseneau about the introduction of a mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system. Therese was an expert advisor to the New Zealand Electoral Commission between 2010 and 2016. She is currently an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Therese sets out the background to the referendum which led to the introduction of MMP in New Zealand [1:20] how voters view the impact of MMP [13:30] the reality of MMP and coalition governments [21:20] the impact of MMP on women's representation [28:10] the wider...
2019-07-2945 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastElectoral systems in Australia with Antony GreenIn this episode, I’m talking with Antony Green about the Australian electoral system and Vote Compass, a tool which allows voters to explore how their views align with the major parties. Antony is an Australian psephologist and commentator. He is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's election analyst. As well as being an Adjunct Professor University of Sydney in the School of Social and Political Sciences. I spoke with Antony about how he came to be Australia’s best-known election analyst - he said he was in the right place, at the right time, with the right s...
2019-04-2318 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastReforming democracy, democratic legitimacy and majority bonuses with Dr Camille BedockIn this episode, I’m talking with Dr Camille Bedock about her book Reforming Democracy: Institutional engineering in Western Europe, 1990 - 2010 and also about her more recent research with Sophie Panel on citizen conceptions of how democratic their democracy is and with Nicolas Sauger on how electoral systems with majority bonuses affect electoral competition. Camille's book is based on her thesis and looks at electoral and other reforms in Italy and France [1.35] with a focus on the determinants and processes of institutional reform. For her research, Camille focused on formal institutions [3.50] which regulate the functioning of democracy. In particular, she looked...
2019-04-1622 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast3.5 Electoral Integrity with Pippa NorrisIn this episode, I am speaking with Professor Pippa Norris about her work on electoral integrity. Pippa Norris, is the Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, ARC Laureate Fellow and Professor of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, and Director of the Electoral Integrity Project. Pippa has published almost fifty books. Most recently these books focus on electoral integrity. with Electoral Integrity (2017 Cambridge), Election Watchdogs (ed. 2017 Oxford), Why American Elections are Flawed (2017 Cornell), Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit and Authoritarian-Populism (2018 Cambridge, with Ronald Inglehart) and Electoral Integrity in America (ed. 201...
2019-03-2613 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep10 Deliberation Culture Context - John Dryzek Welcome to Episode 10 in this special bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. In this series, I’ve spoken with most of the presenters at the Centre's conference on Deliberation, Culture and Context, which was held in early December 2017. This conference brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here...
2019-03-1818 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep9 Deliberation Culture Context - Quinlan BowmanThis is the ninth episode in a bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast talking about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. In this series, I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's conference in early December 2017 which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supported by John D...
2019-03-0412 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep8 Deliberation Culture Context - John ParkinsonWelcome to Episode 8 in this special bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. In this series, I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's conference in early December 2017 which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supported by John Dryzek's ARC L...
2019-01-2128 min
David Bovill's Listen LaterBonus Ep1 Deliberation Culture Context - Jensen Sass Podcast: Real Democracy Now! a podcast (LS 30 · TOP 5% what is this?)Episode: Bonus Ep1 Deliberation Culture Context - Jensen SassPub date: 2017-12-21This is a the first episode in a bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast talking about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra here in Australia. In this series I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's recent conference which brought together scholars from around the worl...
2018-11-2619 min
David Bovill's Listen LaterBonus Ep1 Deliberation Culture Context - Jensen Sass Podcast: Real Democracy Now! a podcast (LS 30 · TOP 5% what is this?)Episode: Bonus Ep1 Deliberation Culture Context - Jensen SassPub date: 2017-12-21Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationThis is a the first episode in a bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast talking about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra here in Australia. In this series I speak with a number of people...
2018-11-2619 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep7 Deliberation Culture Context - Ian O'FlynnThis bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra here in Australia. In this series I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's recent conference which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supported by John Dryzek's ARC Laureate Fellowship entitled "Deliberative Worlds: Democracy, Justice and a Changing Earth System." In this episode I’m speakin...
2018-10-1521 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep Deliberation Culture and ContextWelcome to Episode 6 in this special bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. In this bonus series I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's conference in early December 2017 which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supported by John Dryzek...
2018-10-0821 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep5 Deliberation Culture Context - Arabella Lyon Welcome to Episode 5 in this special bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. In this series I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's conference in early December 2017 which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supported by John Dryzek's ARC La...
2018-01-2518 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep 4 Deliberation, Culture and Context - Vijayendra RaoWelcome to Episode 4 in this special bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. In this series, I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's conference in early December 2017 which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supported by John Dryzek's ARC L...
2018-01-1014 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus ep 3 Deliberation, Culture and Context - Emmanuel Ani Welcome to Episode 3 in this special bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra here in Australia. In this series I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's recent conference which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supported by John Dryzek...
2018-01-0823 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep2 Deliberation Culture Context - Melissa WilliamsThis is episode 2 in this special bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra here in Australia. In this series I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's recent conference which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated with deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supported by John Dryzek...
2018-01-0228 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastBonus Ep1 Deliberation Culture Context - Jensen SassThis is a the first episode in a bonus series of Real Democracy Now! a podcast talking about Deliberation, Culture and Context. This bonus series has been made in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra here in Australia. In this series I speak with a number of people who participated in the Centre's recent conference which brought together scholars from around the world to examine the different forms, meanings, and significance associated to deliberation in various cultures and contexts. A copy of the conference program is available here. This Conference was supporte...
2017-12-2119 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastElectoral reform with Dr Alan RenwickWelcome to episode four of season three of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. This episode is also the 43rd episode of the podcast and the first one since the first birthday of the podcast last week. To help celebrate the podcast’s birthday I’d appreciate it if you could share either your favourite episode of the podcast or the podcast generally with someone you think would find it interesting. Today's episode is about electoral reform with Dr Alan Renwick, Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit at UCL in London. Alan’s expertise lies mainly in the areas of electoral systems, ref...
2017-10-2727 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastLegislature by Lot with Professor John GastilWelcome to episode 3 in Season 3 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. Season 3 is about elections, electoral systems, electoral reform and alternatives. In this episode I’m speaking with Professor John Gastil. John is a Professor in the Communication Arts and Sciences and Political Science at the Pennsylvania State University as well as a Senior Scholar in the McCourtney Institute for Democracy. He studies political deliberation and group decision making across a range of contexts. Recently John and Erik Olin Wright, as part of the Real Utopias project, held a three-day workshop called Legislature by Lot. Thanks to David Schecter I was...
2017-10-0455 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastPatterns of Democracy with Prof Arend LijphartWelcome to episode 2 of Season 3 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. Season 3 is looking at elections, electoral systems, electoral reform and alternatives. In today’s episode, I’m talking with Professor Arend Lijphart about his work identifying two main categories of democracies which relate in part to their electoral systems. Arend is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of California. His field of specialisation is comparative politics. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, with the two editions of his Patterns of Democracy from 1984 and 2012 being perhaps his most well-known and the subject of...
2017-09-2534 minReal Democracy Now! a podcastElectoral systemsThank you for joining me in episode 1 of Season 3 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. Season 3 of the podcast is looking at Elections, electoral systems, electoral reform and alternatives. As you can imagine this is a huge area to cover and I would like to thank Anika Gauja from the University of Sydney who helped me develop a broad structure for this Season. I’m going to start looking at a few areas at a high level before moving into more detail in areas such as electoral systems around the world, negative campaigning and populism, compulsory vs voluntary voting, the vario...
2017-09-1833 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.18 One change to democracy, part 4Welcome to episode 18 in Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. This episode is part 4 of the series where my guests share their views in response to the question: If you could change one thing about our system of democracy what would it be? And it is also the last episode in Season 2 about representative democracy. I’ll be taking a break to put together Season 3 looking at Elections, voting and alternatives. First up let’s hear from Professor Nadia Urbinati’s response to this question. Nadia is is a Professor of Political Theory and Hellenic Studies at Columbia University. She is a po...
2017-07-2421 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.17 Democracy and ethics with Dr Simon LongstaffWelcome to episode 17 in Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. Today I’m talking with Dr Simon Longstaff the Executive Director of The Ethics Centre, based in Sydney, Australia. Simon began his working life on Groote Eylandt (Anindilyakwa) in the Northern Territory where he worked in the Safety Department of the then BHP subsidiary, GEMCO. He is proud of his kinship ties with members of the island’s Indigenous community. Following a period studying law in Sydney and a brief career teaching in Tasmania, Simon undertook postgraduate studies in philosophy as a Member of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Simon commenced his wo...
2017-07-1727 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.16 Democracy and capitalism with Professors Morlino Merkel Fung and Associate Professor NäsströmWelcome to episode 16 in Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. In this episode, I talk to a few of my previous guests about the relationship between representative democracy and capitalism. Some common themes emerge, specifically around the power of capital challenging the power of democratically elected governments and the problem of growing inequality and the erosion of the welfare state and social democracy. My first guest is Professor Wolfgang Merkel who spoke about his paper Is Capitalism compatible with Democracy? Professor Merkel is the Director of the Research Unit: Democracy and Democratization at the WZB Social Science Research Centre Berlin, as w...
2017-07-1328 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.15 One change to democracy, part 3Thank you for joining me in episode 15 in Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. I ask all of my guests two questions: what for them is the essence of a real democracy? and if they could change one thing about our system of democracy what would it be? This episode is the third episode where I’ve put together a range of my guests' answers to the question: If you could change one thing about our system of democracy, what would it be? We are very near the end of Season 2 - only three episodes to go and I will soo...
2017-07-0621 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.Bonus Democratic deficit, a mismatch between expectations & performance plus challenges with Prof Pippa NorrisWelcome to this bonus episode in Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. Season 2 is about representative democracy and this episode is about the democratic deficit. In episodes 12 and 13 of Season 2 I spoke to a range of academics about the democratic deficit arising from declining levels of trust and structural aspects of our current system of representative democracy. Today I talk with Professor Pippa Norris about the democratic deficit arising from the gap between people’s expectations of democracy and their perception of its performance. Pippa is the Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Harvard University where she has taught...
2017-06-2611 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.14 Citizen satisfaction with democracy with A/Prof Quinton MayneIn Episode 14 of Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast I’m talking with Quinton Mayne, Associate Professor of Public Policy in the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation in the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Quinton received his Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University. His dissertation, entitled The Satisfied Citizen: Participation, Influence, and Public Perceptions of Democratic Performance, won the American Political Science Association's 2011 Ernst B. Haas Best Dissertation Award in European Politics as well as the 2011 Best Dissertation Award in Urban Politics. Mayne's research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of comparat...
2017-06-1948 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.13 Democratic deficit , structural aspects with Professors Urbinati, Hindess, Merkel and Morlino plus Dr Fuller & A/Prof IsakhanWelcome to Episode 13 of Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. In today’s episode, we are talking at the democratic deficit again, this time focusing more on structural aspects of democracy. First up I talk to Professor Nadia Urbinati. Nadia is a Professor of Political Theory and Hellenic Studies at Columbia University. She is a political theorist who specialises in modern and contemporary political thought and the democratic and anti-democratic traditions. Nadia has written extensively on democracy including two books: Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy, Democracy Disfigured, and Mill on Democracy: From the Athenian Polis to Representative Government. I first spoke...
2017-06-1345 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.12 Democratic deficit, trust and stealth democracy with Professors Stoker, Warren, and MorlinoWelcome to Episode 12 of Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. In today’s episode, we are talking at the democratic deficit, focusing on trust and the concept of stealth democracy. First up I talk to Professor Gerry Stoker at his research into trust and democracy as well as the concept of stealth democracy. Gerry is Professor of Governance within Social Sciences: Politics and International Relations at the University of Southampton. He is also the Centenary Professor of Governance in the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra. Professor Stoker’s main research interests are in governance...
2017-06-0834 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.11 If you could change one thing about democracy, part 2 I ask all of my guests two questions: what for them is the essence of a real democracy? and if they could change one thing about our system of democracy what would it be? In episode 1.9 we heard from a number of the guests I interviewed in Season 1 (about deliberative mini-publics) on their view of the essence of a real democracy. And in episode 2. 5 we heard a range of ideas for ‘one change to democracy’. Today is another episode where guests share their idea for that one change (sometimes two) to our system of democracy. I’ve found the answers people have...
2017-06-0122 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.10 Monitory democracy with Professor John KeaneWelcome to episode 10 of Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! a podcast. Today my guest is Professor John Keane. John is Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney and at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin. He is also the co-founder and director of the Sydney Democracy Network. He is renowned globally for his creative thinking about democracy and is the author of the Life and Death of Democracy as well writing ‘Democracy Field Notes’ for the Conversation. Today I talk with Professor Keane about his book The Life and Death of Democracy and in particular the concept of ‘monitory democracy' which he develops in...
2017-05-231h 17Real Democracy Now! a podcast2.9 Representation and the Spirit of Democracy with Sofia NäsströmWelcome to episode 9 in season 2 of Real Democracy Now! A podcast. In today’s episode, I’m talking to Associate Professor Sofia Näsström from the Department of Government, at the Uppsala University in Sweden. Sofia works in the field of political theory, with a particular focus on issues related to democracy, constituent power, the people, the right to have rights, representation, freedom and precarity. She is currently working on a monograph entitled The Spirit of Democracy: Thinking Democracy beyond the Nation-State. Sofia is a democratic theorist and I talk with her about who is being represented in representative democracies...
2017-05-1528 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.8 Pragmatic democracy and saving democracy with Professor Archon FungToday I'm speaking with Professor Archon Fung. Professor Fung is the Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His research explores policies, practices, and institutional designs that deepen the quality of democratic governance. He focuses upon public participation, deliberation, and transparency. He co-directs the Transparency Policy Project and leads democratic governance programs of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the Kennedy School. I talk to Professor Fung about the concept of ‘pragmatic democracy’ which he describes as being focused on outcomes and then looking at diffe...
2017-05-0827 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.7 A problem-based approach to democratic theory with Professor Mark WarrenToday I’m speaking with Professor Mark Warren. Mark is the Harold and Dorrie Merilees Chair in the Study of Democracy in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia where he established the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions. His current research interests fall within the field of democratic theory. He is especially interested in new forms of citizen participation, new forms of democratic representation, the relationship between civil society and democratic governance, and the corruption of democratic relationships. I’m talking with Mark about, amongst other things, his latest paper entitled A Problem-Based Approach to Dem...
2017-05-0129 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.6 Democracy with adjectives, Jean-Paul GagnonToday I’m talking with Assistant Professor Jean-Paul Gagnon from the University of Canberra. Jean-Paul is a philosopher of democracy specialising in democratic theory. Jean-Paul's research into democracy has three areas of focus. The first, which I am talking with him about today, is an ongoing empirical effort to catalogue democracy’s adjectives and to inquire about what knowing these adjectives may come to mean or be used for. The second is to continue contributing to the theory of non-human democracy by trying to draw lessons for human democracies from the practices of non-human others. The third is to contribute to globalis...
2017-04-2439 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.5 If you could change one thing about democracy what would it be?I ask all of my guests two questions: what for them is the essence of a real democracy? and if they could change one thing about our system of democracy what would it be? In episode 1.9 we heard from a number of the guests I interviewed in Season 1 (about deliberative mini-publics) on their view of the essence of a real democracy. Today we hear from guests from Season 1 and 2 on the one change they would make to our system of democracy. I’ve found the answers people have given to this question fascinating. Sometimes people want changes that directly relate to thei...
2017-04-1717 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.4 Non-Western democracy with Benjamin Isakhan & Zelalem SirnaWelcome to episode 4 of Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! A podcast. Today’s episode is about non-Western democracy. I’d like to thank David Schecter for bringing this area of democratic thinking and practice to my attention and for introducing me to my two guests: Associate Professor Benjamin Isakhan and PhD scholar Zelalem Sirna from Ethiopia. Both guests highlight the Eurocentric nature of much of the discourse on democracy and introduce us to some non-western examples of democratic practice. Benjamin Isakhan is Associate Professor of Politics and Policy Studies and Founding Director of POLIS, a research network for Politics and Interna...
2017-04-101h 08Real Democracy Now! a podcast2.3 Evaluating representative democracy with Professors Morlino & Merkel & Assistant Professor PemsteinThank you for joining me in the third episode of Season 2 of Real Democracy Now! A podcast. Season 2 is looking at representative democracy and today I am talking with three academics who take different approaches to evaluating representative democracy. These three approaches are by no means the only ones, in fact there are many indexes and evaluation frameworks in existence. Which is why Dan Pemstein with his colleagues Stephen Meserve and James Melton created the United Democracy Scores to integrate a number of these into one measure. First up, I speak to Professor Leonardo Morlino who is a professor of politi...
2017-04-031h 00Real Democracy Now! a podcast2.2 From direct to representative democracy with Dr Roslyn Fuller and Professor Nadia Urbinati In today’s episode, I’m talking with Dr Roslyn Fuller and Professor Nadia Urbinati. Dr Roslyn Fuller (dipl. jur./erstes Staatsexamen, Goettingen; PhD, Trinity College Dublin) is a Canadian-Irish academic and columnist, specializing in public international law, and the impact of technological innovation on democracy. Her latest book Beasts and Gods: How Democracy Changed Its Meaning and Lost Its Purpose explores the flaws of representative democracy and how they could be addressed through the application of ancient Athenian principles of demokratia (people power). Her work has appeared, among others, in OpenDemocracy, The Nation, The Toronto Star, Salon and The Irish Times...
2017-03-2747 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast2.1 Democracy in ancient Greece with Prof Paul CartledgeWelcome back to Real Democracy Now! a podcast.This is episode one of Season Two. Season Two is about representative democracy Season Two is about representative democracy: its origins, components, how it can be evaluated, different approaches to democracy, the democratic deficit and the relationship between democracy and capitalism. In Episode 1 of Season 2, I'm talking to Professor Paul Cartledge. Professor Cartledge was the inaugural A G Levants Professor of Greek Culture Professor Cartledge was the inaugural A G Levants Professor of Greek Culture in the University of Cambridge and President of Clare College, Camb...
2017-03-1934 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.19 Deliberative mini-publics - some critiquesIn this episode I speak to three academics who each take a critical perspective on the operation of deliberative mini-publics. Each of them takes issue with a different aspect of the impact or influence that the recommendations coming from deliberative mini-publics have on public policy. For Associate Professor Genevieve Fuji Johnson the failure of the democratic innovations she studied (which includes deliberative mini-publics and deliberative polling) was that they didn't have any real impact on policy and decision-making. Professor Cristina Lafont takes basically the opposite view. For her deliberative mini-publics should not have any impact on policy decisions, rather they...
2017-02-121h 05
podcastcoachPodcasting Pet Peeves of My ListenersOnce a month this year, I'm going ask you a question and use those answers for an episode. I want to get to under you more, and in general get a better understand of what you like and dislike. This month I asked, "What are those things that make your go "Uggh" when listening to a podcast. They might make your even unsubscribe. SPONSOR: Emerald City Productions Get your first four episodes edited for $15 each (and only $40 after that – for shows up to 30 minutes). Just go to www.emeraldcitypro.com/sop(other companies are charging $99 an episode) What Makes You Un...
2017-02-0751 min
The School of PodcastingPodcasting Pet Peeves of My ListenersOnce a month this year, I'm going ask you a question and use those answers for an episode. I want to get to under you more, and in general get a better understand of what you like and dislike. This month I asked, "What are those things that make your go "Uggh" when listening to a podcast. They might make your even unsubscribe. SPONSOR: Emerald City Productions Get your first four episodes edited for $15 each (and only $40 after that – for shows up to 30 minutes). Just go to www.emeraldcitypro.com/sop (other companies are charging $99 an episode) What Makes You Uns...
2017-01-3051 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.18 Evaluating deliberative mini-publicsIn today's episode, I speak with Professor Graham Smith and Professor Brigitte Geißel about the evaluation frameworks they have each developed to assess the value of democratic innovations. I ask each of them how their frameworks apply to deliberative mini-publics and they provide quite different assessments of the value and effectiveness of deliberative mini-publics as democratic innovations. Professor Smith's framework identifies four democratic goods: inclusiveness popular control considered judgement and transparency. Professor Geißel's analytical framework comprises five criteria: inclusive participation meaningful participation legitimacy effectiveness and citizen enlightenment. As you can see...
2017-01-2930 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.17 Participants in deliberative mini-publicsIn today's episode I speak with four everyday people who have been participants in deliberative mini-publics in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Each person has their own unique take on being a randomly selected participant in a deliberative mini-public, but they all agree they would recommend being part of a deliberative mini-public to family and friends. First up is Ben McPeek who was a member of the Residents’ Reference Panel for the Davenport Community Rail Overpass project in 2015. This Reference Panel was commissioned by Metrolinx and designed and facilitated by MASS LBP. I spoke to Peter MacLeod fr...
2017-01-2242 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.16 Deliberative Polling with Professor FishkinProfessor Fishkin developed the idea of deliberative polling in 1998 since then deliberative polls have been held in over 24 countries and once in 22 languages simultaneously. Professor Fishkin holds the Janet M. Peck Chair in International Communication at Stanford University where he is Professor of Communication, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Deliberative Democracy. Deliberative polls have been designed to provide the conditions under which people can think about an issue and decision-makers can see how those people's views change as a result of this process. The conditions Professor Fishkin identifies as optimal include: ca...
2017-01-1540 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.15 The G1000 in the NetherlandsThe G1000 model has expanded beyond its home in Belgium and has been particularly popular in the Netherlands. In today’s episode I speak with one of the founders of the G1000 in the Netherlands, Harm van Deijk. Harm has a background in facilitation and used these skills together with the underlying principles of the G1000 to develop a model which has been used in numerous local government areas across the Netherlands as well as being adapted for regional and industry issues. Harm explains how the G1000 was introduced in the Netherlands as well as providing a detailed description of how...
2017-01-0845 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.14 The G1000 in BelgiumThe G1000 arose in Belgium out of frustration with the inability of the political parties in Belgium to form a government. The G1000 began in 2011 and had three broad phases: public agenda setting, the Citizens' Summit and the Citizens' Panel. Unlike many of the other deliberative mini-publics we've heard about in earlier podcast episodes the G1000 was explicitly about agenda setting by citizens rather than providing advice to elected representatives on a topic those representatives have chosen. A short overview of the G1000 process and outputs can be found on Participedia. Didier Caluwaerts is...
2017-01-0132 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.13 Deliberative mini-publics in the USA: AmericaSpeaks and the National Institute for Civil DiscourseDr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer is currently the Executive Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, an organization in the United States that works to reduce political dysfunction and incivility in the political system. As a leader in the field of deliberative democracy, Carolyn works to restore the US's democracy to reflect the intended vision of their founding fathers. Dr. Lukensmeyer was also the founder and President of AmericaSpeaks, an award-winning nonprofit organization that promoted nonpartisan initiatives to engage citizens and leaders through the development of innovative public policy tools and strategies. In today's episode she talks about what brought her to work wit...
2016-12-2635 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.12 Democracy in Practice: deliberative mini-publics in Bolivian schoolsDemocracy in Practice is an organisation dedicated to democratic innovation, experimentation, and capacity building currently working in Bolivia. Their mission is to transform how people envision democracy, and to develop innovative ways for even the largest organizations, communities, and governments to be truly democratic—not just in theory or in name, but in practice. Democracy in Practice are currently in their third year of school-based projects that reinvent student government, combining democratic experimentation with the a focus on providing young people with an experiential democratic education. In this episode I speak with Adam Cronkright who co-founded Democracy in Practice in 2013. Before engagi...
2016-12-1833 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.11 Facilitating deliberative mini-publics, more from AustraliaIn this episode I speak with three Australian facilitators: Keith Greaves, co-founder of Mosaic Lab, a Victorian based company focused on improving democracy through discussion and dialogue (@ 1.11). Lucy Cole-Edelstein, Director of Straight Talk, a NSW based company specialising in helping people understand each other (@16.36) and Max Hardy, Principal at Max Hardy Consulting, based in Victoria and works with leaders and organisations to achieve results through collaboration (@44.40). Each of these facilitators has over 20 years experience working with communities and all of them are award winning facilitators of deliberative mini-publics. Because deliberative mini-publics are so popular at the moment here in Australia t...
2016-12-131h 07Real Democracy Now! a podcast1.10 Facilitating deliberative mini-publics: in Australia and the UKWith the growth in popularity of deliberative mini-publics there has been a increased demand for people to facilitate these processes. In today’s episode I speak to two such people - Emily Jenke from Democracy Co in South Australia and Titus Alexander from Democracy Matters the UK. Emily Jenke has been facilitating community engagement processes for nearly years, most recently moving into supporting deliberative processes. Emily was in the midst of facilitating one of Australia’s largest deliberative mini-publics with 350 people considering the future of nuclear fuel storage in South Australia when we did this interview. Titus...
2016-12-0535 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.9 The essence of a real democracy - some perspectivesI have asked all of my guests what they think is the essence of a real democracy. In this episode I showcase their responses. Professor Carson sees the essence of a real democracy as being about self government and trust. Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, founder of the newDemocracy Foundation, agreed that people should be able to govern themselves. Professor Janette Hartz-Karp from Curtin University in Western Australia highlighted the need to consider the common good co-designed by the people. Peter MacLeod from MASS LBP in Canada talked about giving citizens a role between elections with more opportunities for citizens to be involved. Associat...
2016-11-2720 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.8 Designing & delivering deliberative mini-publics in the United KingdomProfessor Graham Smith from Westminster University was part of a number of academics who designed and ran the Democracy Matters project in 2015. This project involved two Citizens' Assemblies both considering devolution of local decision-making. In addition to being demonstration projects around engaging everyday citizens in decision-making about local governance these two process involved slightly different designs to allow the academics involved to test the impact of having elected representatives as part of the Citizens' Assembly. Graham explains the background to these two Citizens' Assemblies as well as the preliminary findings about the impact of having po...
2016-11-2014 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.7 Designing & delivering deliberative mini-publics with the newDemocracy FoundationThe newDemocracy Foundation is a is an independent, non-partisan research organisation here is Australia that aims to identify improvements to our democratic process with a focus on promoting deliberative mini-publics as a key democratic reform. Iain Walker is the Executive Director of the newDemocracy Foundation and has designed and managed over twenty deliberative mini-publics for local and State Governments in Australia. Iain explains the approach newDemocracy Foundation takes to the design of deliberative mini-publics generally and also sets out the example of the Melbourne People's Panel a 43 person deliberative mini-public, involving both residents and businesses, whi...
2016-11-1415 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.6 Designing & delivering deliberative mini-publics in CanadaPeter MacLeod is the CEO and Founder of MASS LBP, a Canadian consultancy focused on democratic innovation and public strategy. Since 2007, MASS has led some of the country's most original and ambitious efforts to engage citizens in tackling tough policy choices while pioneering the use of Civic Lotteries and Reference Panels on behalf of forward-thinking governments. MASS LBP has conducted twenty-five major reference panels, citizens assemblies and commissions for government involving more than 1000 Canadians and reaching 250,000 households. Cumulatively, this represents some 30,000 hours of deliberation on significant public issues, making MASS an internationally-recognized and unparalleled leader in...
2016-11-0626 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.5 Designing & delivering deliberative mini-publics in Western AustraliaProfessor Janette Hartz-Karp is a Professor in the Sustainability Policy Unit at Curtin University in Western Australia. As well as undertaking research in the area of democratic innovations Janette has lead numerous large innovative deliberative processes as community engagement consultant to the then Western Australian Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Allanah McTernan, and more recently with the City of Geraldton. Janette explains how she approaches the design of deliberative mini-publics focusing on three key elements: influence, deliberation, and representativeness. Then she describes a number of processes she has designed and delivered including Dialogue in the City, a large process involving 1,100 peopl...
2016-10-3017 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.4 Explaining the popularity of deliberative mini-publicsDeliberative mini-publics are a popular form of democratic innovation around the world. In today's episode I talk to a range of people to get their perspectives on what is behind this popularity. Professor Graham Smith is a Professor of Politics in the Centre for the Study of Democracy, in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster in London. Professor Janette Hartz-Karp, from the Sustainability Policy Unit at Curtin University in Western Australia. Janette is renowned nationally and internationally for her innovative work in community engagement and deliberative democracy. Lu...
2016-10-2419 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.3 A politician's perspective with Premier Jay WeatherillJay Weatherill is South Australia’s 45th Premier and has held that position since 2014. Under his leadership South Australia has become a leading light in democratic reform in Australia and around the world. In particular, South Australia has been at the forefront in the use of deliberative mini-publics, or citizens’ juries as they are often called here in Australia. In South Australia the Government has conducted a number of citizens’ juries to address a range of issues including how to ensure their capital, Adelaide, has a safe and vibrant nightlife how cars and bicycles can share the road safely how to manage u...
2016-10-1721 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.2 Why do deliberative mini-publics work with Helene LandemoreHelene Landemore is an A/Professor of Political Science at Yale University. Her research interests include democratic theory and theories of justice. Her book Democratic Reason: Politics, Collective Intelligence, and the Rule of the Many, was based on her PhD research in which she demonstrated that decisions taken by the many are more likely to be right than decisions taken by the few. Helene is currently working on another book about post-representative democracy, a hopefully not too distant future, where democratic innovations are implemented and truly change the nature of the relationship between citizens and the...
2016-10-1234 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.1 What are deliberative mini-publics with Professor CarsonProfessor Carson is a world renowned expert on deliberative mini-publics, having researched, designed and run them as well as training others in how to engage with citizens through dialogue, deliberation and engagement. Carson is passionate about improving how democracy works. Carson would like to see Australia leading the way in democratic reform, perhaps by setting up a Citizens' Senate, providing a real exemplar for others to adopt.
2016-10-1238 minReal Democracy Now! a podcast1.0 What's this podcast about?Real Democracy Now! a podcast is for people who think we can and should do democracy better. In this podcast I talk with experts, practitioners, change agents and everyday people about how democracy works and how we might do it better. Real Democracy Now! a podcast looks at democracy from different angles to help you think more deeply about democracy and identify the ways you think it could be improved. The first season of Real Democracy Now! a podcast, will look at deliberative mini-publics, often called citizens’ juries, which are a very popular democrat...
2016-10-1204 min