Forms of Aleatory Democracy: Genesis and Development

The article analyses forms of citizen participation in public decision-making that are alternative to traditional institutions of citizen participation (public discussions of draft laws by citizens, public hearings, citizen participation in the work of public councils formed by government bodies, etc.). The author argues that the main drawback of traditional forms of civil participation consists in a lack of mechanisms for ensuring independent and competent public discussion of the most significant public problems. Therefore, in his opinion, such institutions tend to be more aligned with the politics of special interests, i.e., expressing the aspirations of elite groups, rather than civil society as a whole. The presented argument is structured according to the theory of deliberative democracy and the related concept of aleatory democracy. Potential forms of civil participation in the exercise of public power based on the institution of drawing lots (various forms of mini-publics) are explored. It is shown that the modelling of these forms is closely related to the evolution of jury trials – and in particular to the introduction in the United States during the late 1960s of the ideal of a fair cross-section of society in the formation of jury composition. The latest forms of aleatory democracy are considered. The advantages and disadvantages of these forms are considered together with the experience of their practical implementation. Forms of aleatory democracy are shown to have potential in terms of contributing to rational communication between civil society and the state, as well as local government bodies. The future development of these forms may thus contribute to overcoming the crisis of modern liberal democracy.

Keywords: aleatory democracy; deliberative democracy; jury trial; mini-publics; planning cells; citizens’ juries; consensus conferences; deliberative polls; citizens’ assemblies; citizen’s core jury; citizens’ parliament; cross-sectional ideal; cross-sectional jury