Citizens' Council Democracy

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Logo of the Citizens' Council Democracy
Citizens' Council Democracy in Leipzig

The Citizens 'Council Democracy was the first nationwide, lot-based citizens' assembly in Germany. 160 people drawn from the population registers drew up recommendations for strengthening democracy in September 2019 . The focus of the citizens' council was the question "whether and in what form our tried and tested parliamentary-representative democracy can be supplemented by further elements of citizen participation and direct democracy ."

background

The CDU , CSU and SPD agreed in their 2018 coalition agreement to convene an expert commission on democracy . It should “work out proposals as to whether and in what form our tried and tested parliamentary representative democracy can be supplemented by further elements of citizen participation and direct democracy . In addition, proposals for strengthening democratic processes are to be developed ”. The Citizens' Council for Democracy should accompany the work of the expert commission. As of April 2020, no such commission was set up.

Model of citizens Council democracy was the town meeting Citizens' Assembly or its predecessor Constitutional Convention in Ireland , whose proposals for marriage for same-sex couples and abortion rights in referenda found wide majorities. The Irish example was followed not only by the citizens 'council initiators in Germany , but also in countries such as France ( Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat ) and Great Britain ( Climate Assembly UK ) with citizens' councils on the topic of global warming . In England in particular , numerous local citizens' councils have also been set up.

organization

Organizers

The Citizens' Council Democracy was initiated by the Mehr Demokratie association and the Schöpflin Foundation and supported by the Mercator Foundation. For the practical implementation they worked together with IFOK and the Nexus Institute . The chairmanship of the Citizens' Council was transferred to the former Bavarian Prime Minister Günther Beckstein (CSU).

Advisory Board

An advisory board with members from civil society and academia was formed to support the citizens' council .

The civil society advisory board consists of

Scientific advisory board members are

financing

The cost of holding the Citizens' Council Democracy was 1.5 million euros. The funding was made possible by the Schöpflin Foundation and the Mercator Foundation .

execution

Vote at the Citizens' Council Democracy

Regional conferences

In preparation for the actual citizens' council meeting, regional conferences were held in Erfurt , Gütersloh , Koblenz , Mannheim , Munich and Schwerin , in which all interested citizens could take part and discuss necessary changes and additions to democracy together with regional members of the Bundestag from all parties represented in the Bundestag.

Lottery procedure

For the lottery procedure , 98 municipalities nationwide were written to and asked to provide randomly compiled address data. All regions of Germany and the different sizes of municipalities should be represented. All people with German citizenship aged 16 and over could be drawn. During the draw, care was taken to ensure that the citizens' council participants represented the population as accurately as possible by gender , age group , level of education , size of place of residence and possible migration background .

First, municipalities were drawn randomly from the official register of municipalities in all federal states. An application was made to the registration offices of these municipalities to draw a random sample of their citizens and to make democracy available to the citizens' council for the invitation.

The voting ratio in the Federal Council served as an orientation for the distribution of the sample across the federal states . The 160 participants in the citizens' council ultimately came from 49 cities and municipalities. A total of 250 people applied to participate.

Citizens' Council in Leipzig

The Citizens Council Democracy took place on 14./15. and 28./29. September 2019 in Leipzig . Various experts such as Benjamin Höhne , Andrea Verpoorten or Ralf-Uwe Beck and civil society organizers such as Lobbycontrol or Mehr Demokratie gave lectures on topics such as lobbyism , transparency , citizen participation and direct democracy .

The discussions of the citizens 'council resulted in 22 recommendations for action on democracy, which the members of the citizens' council decided individually on the last day.

Citizens' opinion

Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble at the "Day for Democracy"

As part of a “Day for Democracy”, the citizen's report with the recommendations of the Citizens' Council Democracy was handed over to Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble on November 15, 2019 in Berlin . The latter accepted the report on behalf of the entire Bundestag and emphasized the importance of the approach of a citizens' council.

Art campaign "Democracy for Future"

Also on November 15, an art campaign for the citizens' council took place in front of the Berlin Reichstag . A large spiral in front of the Reichstag building - made of shiny gold fabric and hundreds of people - took up the shape of the Reichstag dome. A symbolic bridge should be built from the people in the meadow to the people in the Bundestag. The aerial art action “Democracy for Future” was planned and carried out by the artist John Quigley.

After the citizens' opinion was handed over, drawn members of the citizens' council and representatives of the organizations supporting the lottery meetings began talks with members of parliament at various levels in order to convince them of the implementation of the 22 recommendations and of the citizens' council as a democratic instrument.

reception

The kick-off press conference of the Citizens' Council Democracy was broadcast live on the Phoenix broadcaster. Various voices from politics expressed their support for citizens' councils as an instrument of democracy:

“The impulse from the citizens for more participation deserves appreciation and must be taken up in the Bundestag. A start is needed for more citizen participation at the federal level, ”explained Britta Haßelmann , parliamentary manager of the Greens in the Bundestag .

"I hope that the citizens' councils can resolve blockades because people are not committed to a political direction, but to the problem," said Marco Buschmann , parliamentary manager of the FDP parliamentary group .

“We also need to talk about innovations within our democracy. This can include getting people more involved between parliamentary elections, for example through citizens' meetings, ”said Kevin Kühnert , Deputy Federal Chairman of the SPD .

"Citizens' forums counteract the polarization and division of society, so they have a satisfactory effect," said the Saarland Landtag President Stephan Toscani ( CDU ).

The CDU Bundestag member Thorsten Frei set a counterpoint : “Referendums reduce complex political issues to yes or no. Citizens' councils have no political legitimacy . Both can be steered past facts through moods and financial strength ”.

"When it comes to reflecting the social characteristics and world views of the general population as well as possible, drawn-up bodies are more representative," said political scientist Hubertus Buchstein.

Criticism and evaluation

The “Democratic Innovations” research center at the Goethe University Frankfurt accompanied the Citizens' Council on Democracy as an independent body. "The first multi-stage, lot-based deliberative participation process at the federal level in Germany succeeded in dealing intensively with central aspects of democracy and making 22 recommendations that without exception advocate greater involvement of citizens in politics," said the research center in its evaluation report.

Due to the conditional random selection and incentive mechanisms, the participants were approximately representative in terms of gender, age and migration background. Participation had led to an increase in the perception of one's own political abilities as well as greater approval for more participation. In addition, the willingness to participate in politics has increased. However, people with a high level of education and a positive attitude towards greater citizen participation were overrepresented. In addition, there was not enough time to fully discuss all the issues.

In the future, even more efforts towards socio-demographic representativeness are necessary. Methods of so-called “outreach participation” could make a substantial contribution and should be used more in future procedures. An institutionalization and direct connection of lot-based citizens' councils to political institutions is another recommendation.

implementation

On June 18, 2020, the Council of Elders of the German Bundestag decided to hold a lot-based citizens' council, which is to present an opinion on Germany's role in the world. With these recommendations, the parliamentary groups should have an additional basis for further developing political and regulatory ideas and programs. Analogous to the “Citizens' Council Democracy” 2019, 160 citizens selected by lot will discuss three weekends with experts and develop recommendations for action. These should be available in the form of a citizens' report at the beginning of 2021. Bundestag President Schäuble explained that in addition to dealing with the above-mentioned topic, it was primarily a question of researching whether such a new set of instruments was suitable for supporting parliamentary work and developing a format suitable for the conditions in Germany at the federal level. The institutionalization of citizens 'councils was one of the 22 recommendations of the Citizens' Council Democracy.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Lindner: Citizens' Council seeks solutions for the future of democracy. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . September 13, 2019, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  2. ^ Coalition agreement between CDU, CSU and SPD 2018. In: www.bundesregierung.de. Federal government, accessed on March 17, 2020 (quote from the coalition agreement).
  3. ^ Coalition agreement between CDU, CSU and SPD 2018. In: www.bundesregierung.de. Federal Government, accessed on March 17, 2020 .
  4. ^ Citizens Assembly of Ireland. In: citizensassembly.ie. Citizens Assembly of Ireland, accessed March 17, 2020 .
  5. ^ Christian Wildt: Citizens' Council Democracy: Citizens as political advisers. In: RBB Inforadio . March 12, 2020, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  6. ^ Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat. In: https://www.conventioncitoyennepourleclimat.fr . Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat, accessed on March 20, 2020 (French, /, English).
  7. ^ Climate Assembly UK. In: https://www.climateassembly.uk . Climate Assembly UK, accessed March 20, 2020 .
  8. ^ Sonja Meschkat: Proposal for more direct democracy from below. In: Deutschlandfunk Nova . November 16, 2019, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  9. ^ Advisory Board of the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: www.buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  10. ^ A b Timo Rieg: Citizens' Council Democracy: Inform, discuss, vote. In: Heise online . October 4, 2019, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  11. ^ Claudine Nierth: Regional conferences in Erfurt and Schwerin - A citizens' council for more democracy. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur . June 13, 2019, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Lottery at the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: www.buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Wolfgang Dick: Citizens' Council should support the Bundestag. In: Deutsche Welle . September 12, 2019, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  14. ^ Future of Democracy - First Citizens' Council in Leipzig. In: Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk . September 13, 2019, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  15. ^ A b Timo Rieg: After the "Citizens' Council Democracy" in Leipzig - Dare to see more democracy from below. In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur . October 7, 2019, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Documentation of lectures and discussions at the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: www.buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 17, 2020 .
  17. ^ Citizens' Council Democracy - Summary of Results. In: www.buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 17, 2020 .
  18. ^ Peter Lindner: Citizens' Councils - power rooms of democracy. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . September 28, 2019, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Nationwide Citizens' Council pleads for more citizen participation . In: The world . September 28, 2019 ( welt.de [accessed April 29, 2020]).
  20. ^ Citizens 'opinion of the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: www.buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 17, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Tagesschau report on the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: www.tagesschau.de. Tagesschau, November 15, 2019, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  22. ^ Wolfgang Schäuble: Speech by Bundestag President Schäuble on the Citizens' Council on Democracy on November 15, 2019. In: Buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  23. ^ Art campaign "Democracy for Future" on the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: www.buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  24. ↑ Implementation phase Citizens' Council Democracy. In: www.buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  25. ^ Opening press conference for the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: Phoenix.de. Phoenix, June 11, 2019, accessed March 16, 2020 .
  26. ↑ Britta Haßelmann: Departure for more citizen participation. In: www.britta-hasselmann.de. Britta Haßelmann, February 18, 2020, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  27. ↑ Saving democracy by drawing lots? In: www.faz.net. FAZ, July 8, 2019, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  28. ↑ New opportunities through digitization? Kevin Kühnert calls for state intervention in trade, mobility and production. In: www.businessinsider.de. Business Insider, December 23, 2019, accessed March 16, 2020 .
  29. ↑ State Parliament President Stephan Toscani: Involve citizens more closely in the political process through representative citizens' forums. In: www.landtag-saar.de. State Parliament Saar, January 22, 2020, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  30. ↑ Instagram post from CDU MdB Thorsten Frei on the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: www.instagram.com. Instagram, accessed March 16, 2020 .
  31. ↑ Saving democracy by drawing lots? In: www.faz.net. FAZ, July 8, 2019, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  32. ^ Evaluation report on the Citizens' Council Democracy. In: Buergerrat.de. Citizens' Council Democracy, accessed on March 16, 2020 .
  33. ↑ Bundestag resolves new form of citizen participation. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . June 19, 2020, accessed June 19, 2020 .
  34. ↑ Peter Lindner: Trust creates the future. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . June 19, 2020, accessed June 19, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Bundestag resolves new form of citizen participation: Citizens 'Council is to submit citizens' reports to parliament on Germany's role in the world. In: bundestag.de. German Bundestag, June 18, 2020, accessed on June 19, 2020 .