A Cross-National Investigation of Citizens’ Intentions to Participate in a Deliberative Meeting

Deliberative democracy, or the idea that citizens should be encouraged to deliberate about political matters, is increasingly popular among scholars and practitioners in established democracies. Deliberative theorists claim that group discussion leads to more coherent political preferences, greater tolerance for opposing viewpoints, and enhanced faith in the democratic process. There is, however, limited research on citizens’ intentions to participate in deliberation. In our online vignette experiment, 2700 respondents across nine countries (U.K., Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Argentina, Brazil) reported their likelihood to participate in a hypothetical deliberative meeting at the municipal level. Drawing from cognitive mobilization theory and political disaffection theory, we test hypotheses about who wants to participate in these meetings. We also investigate the circumstances or conditions under which citizens would participate. Embedded in the vignettes are five factors, taken from deliberative theory and practice, that are randomly varied: the organizers (public officials vs. an independent organization); the number of participants; the composition (cross-section of society vs. affirmative action); the number of issues on the agenda; and the status of the outcome (advisory vs. binding). Results from a pilot among Dutch university students revealed that the likelihood of participation is greater when the meeting is organized by an independent institution; the participants are small in numbers; and all groups in society are equally represented. The findings of this study will be relevant not only for academics, but also for government and civil society organizations searching for alternative ways of incorporating citizens in decision-making processes.