Assemblies as an antidote to authoritarianism
Today we publish a new paper by DemNext Senior Advisor Ieva Česnulaitytė on the deliberative wave in Central and Eastern Europe
Democracy often feels under siege in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Only last month, Moldova’s referendum on EU membership was plagued by allegations of Russian meddling. Georgia battled with disinformation around the parliamentary elections that will determine its course towards Europe or Russia.
Despite this relentless pressure, the news is not all bad. Today we publish an original research paper by our Senior Adviser Ieva Česnulaitytė that shows how Eastern European citizens and leaders are coming together in town halls, community centres, and government offices to do what traditional politics often fails to do: listen, deliberate, and find solutions.
Please join us for a discussion to launch the report later today (at 4pm CET, details below) to hear more about how these gatherings, known as citizens’ assemblies, could be a critical tool for safeguarding democracy in the region.
Eastern Europe has been an ideological battleground for years. Russia wants to bring the region back into its sphere of influence with divisive tactics that undermine the region's democracies. It floods social media with misinformation, exploits societal fractures, and backs anti-democratic movements.
Russia is not the only destabilising force; many countries face internal power capture as populist leaders erode checks and balances to consolidate control.
But the citizens and governments of the region are not passive victims in this struggle. They have already learned classic responses such as debunking false narratives and combatting election fraud. Now they are increasingly turning to democratic innovation, prioritising engagement over divisive rhetoric.
Citizens’ assemblies, which bring together randomly selected, broadly representative groups of citizens to deliberate on pressing issues worldwide, are proving to be an antidote to polarisation and a bridge over widening social divides. They offer a collaborative platform that empowers citizens to have a meaningful say in decisions that affect their lives. They are structured, evidence-based spaces where members are provided with a breadth of information on complex issues, and then supported to deliberate and reach consensus.
Česnulaitytė’s new study looks at 40 examples across CEE countries – tackling air pollution and social inequalities in Poland, institutional corruption in Montenegro, and climate change in Estonia – and shows how these assemblies can cut through the noise and offer real solutions. Many are initiated or supported by governments, since political leaders also recognise the value of these inclusive, citizen-driven spaces. Others have been organised in illiberal contexts, where assemblies have a different role of opening up a critical, contestatory public sphere, and strengthening civic agency.
Assembly members from different backgrounds, age groups, and political affiliations were able to reach common ground on a range of concrete recommendations. These encouraging local-level successes highlight the potential of citizens’ assemblies to navigate complex, controversial issues — a stark contrast to the gridlock often seen in councils and parliaments.
Interviews with practitioners and academics show that citizens’ assemblies have a role to play in addressing authoritarianism in the region by building resilient democratic systems and protecting society from malicious techniques that divide and fracture.
Democracy in Eastern Europe is still in a precarious position, Česnulaitytė finds. But from Warsaw to Tbilisi, citizens and forward-thinking leaders are showing that resilience is possible. If governments can muster the courage to support this democratic innovation, they may find that the best way to defend democracy is by empowering the people.
📡 What’s on our radar
👀 Catch up here with the recording of DemocracyNext and New America's 13 November briefing about the Deschutes, Oregon citizens' assembly on youth homelessness held in September-October.
🦋 In case you missed it, here's our 13 November publication about More-than-human governance experiments in Europe – the fruit of collaboration between DemocracyNext and Arising Quo.
🇺🇲 Finally, on 17 November our Founder Claudia Chwalisz published a long read on the political moment in the US and her vision of Rekindling American democracy's spirit of public happiness. If you're suffering from "Democratic Fatigue Syndrome", she lays out what the US Founding Fathers and their modern descendants think the cure might be.
🍂 Upcoming event
21 November: Publication of DemocracyNext's Senior Adviser Ieva Česnulaitytė's new paper on "A New Democratic Response to Authoritarianism in Central and Eastern Europe", which tracks the encouraging new wave of citizens' assemblies in the region. Register here to join Ieva and our expert guests to hear more about her findings at 10.00am ET | 4.00pm CET | 5.00pm EEST.
