In the EU project EUComMeet, researchers at the University of Stuttgart investigate the success factors in participative and deliberative processes [Picture: Mehr Demokratie e.V./flickr]
In the EU project EUComMeet, researchers at the University of Stuttgart investigate the success factors in participative and deliberative processes [ Picture: Mehr Demokratie e.V./flickr] Citizen participation is in vogue when it comes to negotiating climate change, refugee policies, and even the renovation of the local hospital. But what conditions must be met for a civic dialog to actually help reduce social polarization and bring politicians and citizens closer together? This is what researchers from the University of Stuttgart and their colleagues from six other countries investigate within the framework of the new EU project "EUComMeet". The citizens' council "Germany's Role in the World", where about 150 random participants discussed the future of democracy in Germany in ten sessions, was under the patronage of Wolfgang Schäuble, the President of the Bundestag. The results have been presented to the German Bundestag on March 19, 2021 in the form of a report. The pan-European civic dialog "Europolis", which took place in the run-up to the 2009 European elections, had far less impact. At that time, 348 citizens from all 27 EU member states spent a weekend in Brussels discussing migration policy and climate change. However, despite the enormous expense of EUR 10 million and very good organization, there was virtually no response from the political elites.
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