Inclusion of Linguistic Minorities in Citizens’ Assemblies in Latvia and Estonia

One of the fundamental features of citizens’ assemblies (CAs) is the creation of a so-called deliberative mini-public (Goodin & Dryzek, 2006), in which a randomly selected and demographically representative group of citizens claims the legitimacy of political decisions made by them as a result of informed deliberation. Therefore, the inclusiveness and representativeness of the group makeup and the assembly process are essential for fulfilling the premises and the goals of deliberative innovations such as citizens’ assemblies (Fishkin, 2009; MacKenzie, 2023). However, ensuring the inclusiveness of the process can present a particular challenge in linguistically divided societies, where common communication methods are not guaranteed. This article explores two cases of citizens’ assemblies organized in linguistically and ethnically divided Baltic states: Estonia and Latvia, focusing on initiatives that took place in their capital cities in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The assemblies constituted an application of differing patterns of inclusion of linguistic minorities into the assembly processes. The Tallinn’s Citizens’ Assembly for a Green Capital was conducted simultaneously in three languages: Estonian, Russian, and English, using group separation during the deliberative phase of the CA, while the Riga Climate Assembly was conducted entirely in Latvian, with translation provided for Russian-speaking participants. Both cases offer valuable insights for research on differing approaches to inclusion of linguistic minorities into deliberative processes. The article answers two primary research questions (RQ1): ‘What patterns of inclusion of linguistic minorities were applied in cases of Tallinn’s and Riga’s assemblies and how did their implementation impact the participants’ experiences in the processes?’ and (RQ2): ‘What advantages and disadvantages of the applied models of inclusion of linguistic minorities were observed by the participants of the processes?’. The study relies on surveys and qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with former participants of the assemblies in order to gather their experiences in and perceptions of the processes. The research aims to highlight how cities with significant linguistic minorities choose to integrate them into the introduced deliberative processes and how the inclusion of Russian-speaking minorities in times of geopolitical instability is perceived by CA participants.