FROM August 30 to September 1, Extinction Rebellion will host Upgrade Democracy, an event in Windsor Great Park, to highlight the potential of citizens’ assemblies to bring hope and renewal to our broken system through deliberative democracy.

As we prepare to gather outside Windsor Castle, it feels fitting to echo the King’s own appeal, which makes clear that our mission to survive is beyond politics.

“We are at a historical moment — because we face a future where there is a real prospect that if we fail the Earth, we fail humanity. To avoid such an outcome which will comprehensively destroy our children’s future, we must urgently confront and then make choices which carry monumental implications.” (from “Harmony” by King Charles, Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly)

One such urgent choice is to upgrade democracy. A common and lazy critique of Extinction Rebellion’s third demand — that climate and environmental action should be guided by a citizens’ assembly (CA) on climate and ecological justice — is that we are attempting to undermine democracy.

In reality, citizens’ assemblies are rooted in the very foundations of democracy. The term itself derives from the Greek words demos (people) and kratos (power): literally “people power.” In ancient Athens, citizens convened to decide on major issues like war and public spending. 

CAs are not a novel concept. They have been widely used across the political spectrum to enhance participatory democracy, increase public engagement, and address intricate policy challenges with the help of expert witnesses, especially when governments acknowledge their own limitations in making informed decisions.

In this sense, CAs are akin to juries, whose decisions are binding and based on evidence rather than ideology or emotion. The British legal system’s courtrooms, where juries deliberate unswayed by vested interests, can be seen as  microcosms of how CAs function within a democratic framework.

Recently, countries like Iceland and Canada have used CAs to address complex issues such as electoral reform. In 2004, the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform was tasked with exploring alternative voting systems, while Ireland’s 2016 CA made influential recommendations on abortion law, leading to significant legal changes.

CAs promote long-term, multi-generational thinking, as participants have no personal stakes and can break political deadlock by thoroughly understanding complex issues, such as abortion in Ireland or assisted dying in France.

Transparency is key, with funding, materials and presentations made public. Members work from the same in-depth materials, fostering informed decisions based on facts, not opinions. The collective intelligence of diverse participants, representing a wide range of views and experiences, enhances problem-solving capabilities beyond what is typical in electoral politics.

CAs also value public submissions and expert evidence, and they can invite additional experts as needed. Trust is essential — trusting citizens to think independently and collaboratively, free from party politics, leads to better outcomes.

In 2016 the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy endorsed the use of CAs, emphasising the importance of inclusive dialogue in science and technology policymaking. And in 2020, Defra engaged Henry Dimbleby to lead a National Food Strategy, utilising deliberative dialogues nationwide, focusing on the environmental impact of food production and consumption.

The Sixth Carbon Budget report also underscored that an effective net-zero strategy must include public engagement built on the findings of the UK Climate Assembly.

Chris Stark, former chief executive of the CCC, highlighted the unprecedented nature of this citizen input, informed by expert testimony, marking a significant step in understanding public opinion on climate action, though without statutory power conclusions were merely advisory and easily and often rejected by government.

On the other hand, in Paris this year a permanent CA with statutory power had its recommendations on a Citizen’s Bill passed into law, showcasing the potential of CAs to effect real change.

Britain remains one of the few countries where both law and politics are adversarial rather than inquisitorial. This approach often stifles compromise, reduces complex issues to binary choices and fuels cultural conflicts. As noted by Graeber and Wengrow in The Dawn of Everything, our current understanding of democracy has devolved into “a game of winners and losers played out among larger-than-life individuals, with the rest of us reduced largely to onlookers.”

Throughout history, political thinkers have expressed concerns about uninformed decision-making. Utilitarians like Thomas Macauley and George Grote admired the high level of civic engagement in Athenian democracy and advocated for educational reforms in Britain to foster a similar shared civic consciousness.

In jurisdictions that have embraced deliberative dialogue, participants who are educated with objective evidence often develop more informed opinions, better understand counterarguments, and align on public priorities. 

As we transition from the anti-democratic tactics of the previous administration — most notably the prorogation of Parliament and the use of secondary legislation to circumvent the scrutiny of elected officials — we look to the new government to embrace a commitment to authentic deliberative democracy.

This should include prioritising the understanding of lived experiences, which could serve as a key factor in addressing the recent divisions observed in the streets of our cities.

The first day of our Upgrade Democracy event will reflect on our current system, using theatrical actions to express our rage and powerlessness against a body politic controlled by big oil, money, and power. On the second day, we’ll focus on the futility of this system before embracing collective and participatory decision-making through a mass community assembly, or “massembly,” exploring ways to enhance democracy.

On the final day, we will collaboratively envision the world we want, empowered by unity and collective action: not a destruction of our democracy as some naysayers would have it but a refinement and repair.