Reconsidering Diversity: The Importance of Political Interest in Deliberative Mini-Publics’ Recruitment

Over recent decades, the legitimacy of representative democracy has declined. With the rise of deliberative democratic theory and practices, scholars have examined whether deliberative mini-publics (DMPs), such as citizens’ assemblies, can counter this trend by improving descriptive representation and fostering diverse perspectives. This article contributes to this debate by addressing an underexplored issue: although random selection and quota stratification enhance socio-demographic representativeness, they do not eliminate the overrepresentation of those already interested in political affairs – often termed “the usual suspects.” Using survey data from DMP participants and the general population in Luxembourg, the UK, and Poland, we show that DMP participants are more politically interested, regardless of social background. We further find that politically engaged citizens hold distinct attitudes about politics and democracy, but also distinct perspectives on the deliberation topics compared to the general population. This article argues that to strengthen both input and output legitimacy, DMPs must consider political diversity in participant recruitment.