Councils for the Future

At the moment many people feel a growing gap between politicians and citizens. Advisory citizen’s assemblies could help re-establish trust and re-focus politics on citizen’s long-term concerns. Empowering citizens to formally voice their views on policies and how policies touch upon their long-term concerns could enable citizens to cherish democracy again. It could also help bring citizens together – citizens that rarely interact in societies increasingly polarised. Voicing people in citizen’s assemblies could re-awaken people’s interests in politics – which possibly leads them to become more politically informed and personally engaged in politics.

Challenges: political apathy, mistrust, polarisation, unequal political representation

In a world of declining democracy and rising political polarisation, a complex interplay of socio-economic, political, and cultural factors result in inadequate representation of various groups of citizens in politics. While political inclusion is vital to sustain democracy, systemic and legal barriers to political participation persist at all levels, resulting in challenges relating to the capacity of governments to respond to people’s different needs. To overcome unequal opportunities for political participation and make citizen’s long-term concerns heard in policymaking circles, we must open up to new forms of political participation. That is why we need Councils for the Future.

Proposal: non-partisan citizens’ councils led by underrepresented members of society

We propose the establishment of citizens’ assemblies, entitled ‘Councils for the Future’, to bridge the gap between institutions and citizens. The Councils would operate predominantly on a local level and should represent society’s diversity. Therefore the choice of Council participants would be partly based on demographic factors. Social groups that are underrepresented in politics at the moment, like people of younger age, women, unemployed people (especially in the ages 40-60), elderly people, non-binary people or indigenous peoples, would then be favoured. Bringing these diverse groups together in the Councils could rebuild intra-societal trust and understanding, and combat the feeling of being left behind that is often experienced by members of these groups. While these groups are prioritised, the Councils should be accessible for every person that wants to be part of it – under the condition that the applicant is not already engaged in politics. Thus, people can also access the Councils if they do not meet the demographic criteria. However, it is necessary for admission that the applicant is not yet engaged in politics because admitting people who are already heavily engaged in political parties or other organisations risks that these individuals would dominate a Council’s work and it would run counter to the goal of the Council which is primarily to voice those who have been marginalised.

Practical solutions:

1. The Councils for the Future would attract people on a local level who then get the opportunity to debate issues chosen by the Council’s participants.

  • The chosen applicants would participate in the local Councils for one year and meet on a weekly basis.
  • The results of the local Council meetings would be aggregated in advisory reports that would then be sent to local and regional political bodies.
  • These reports would be shared with the broader citizenry in social media and in town halls and city squares, to inspire people who may engage themselves in another Council round and to show that others than the populists are voicing people.

2. In addition to local Councils for the Future, a National Council for the Future could be established that would coordinate and manage communication between the local Councils.

  • The National Council for the Future would organise annual Council meetings which would draw in randomly selected participants from local Councils.
  • These annual meetings would produce annually published citizen’s advisory reports for the future that synthesise the issues and solutions addressed by the local Councils.
  • These reports would be targeted at national politicians and governmental bodies. National ministers would be required to attend the annual presentations of the advisory reports. Enabling selected citizens to shape national political debates via the National Council for the Future could empower them even more than merely giving them a voice in local political matters.

Impact: better political representation of citizen’s long-term concerns

In the Councils, citizens would get the opportunity to be active in politics without the burdensome responsibilities that accompany a usual politician’s life. As the participants would not need to be elected again, the advice they would provide would probably be more focused on their own experiences and opinions, rather than what could be the most popular opinion. This could lead to better policies and higher trust in democracy.