by Ulrike Liebert
Europe is facing converging crises that reveal the limits of traditional democratic institutions. Many citizens feel alienated from elite-driven, unresponsive systems. The EU, often seen as technocratic and distant, struggles to sustain democratic legitimacy. Yet within this turbulence lies a chance for democratic renewal.
This essay calls for Permanent Citizens’ Assemblies (PCAs) to become a driving force for renewing Europe’s democracy in an age of crisis. As Europe faces overlapping climate emergencies, health crises, financial shocks, rising extremism, and growing public anxiety—traditional political systems are struggling to keep up. PCAs offer a bold alternative: they bring people back into the heart of decision-making through ongoing, citizen-led deliberation. They don’t just patch up the system; they help reinvent it from the ground up. Across cities, regions, and member states, PCAs can turn democratic ideals into everyday practice, providing real-world models of how a stronger, more resilient Europe can emerge. But to succeed, we must scale up these assemblies, embed them deeply in institutions, and anchor them in the public imagination. Building a permanent, citizen-powered democratic ecosystem is not just possible—it is essential for Europe to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
1. Participatory and deliberative citizens’ assemblies: A decade of growing evidence
Over the past decade, citizens’ assemblies have moved from experimental formats to proven instruments of democratic innovation at every level of governance. Across Europe, hundreds of subnational assemblies—from climate assemblies in French and British cities to local governance forums in Belgium and Poland —have shown that ordinary citizens, given time and support, can produce thoughtful, forward-looking policy proposals. At the national level, landmark cases such as Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly on abortion and climate policy demonstrated how structured deliberation can unlock political deadlocks and build public legitimacy for difficult reforms. Meanwhile, transnational experiments like the Conference on the Future of Europe (2021–2022) pushed participatory deliberation beyond national borders, offering a glimpse of how citizens can shape policy across a complex, multi-layered union. These examples are not isolated successes; they form a growing body of practice showing that when citizens are trusted with real responsibility, they deliver collective intelligence and democratic energy that traditional systems often lack.
2. Toward a citizen-powered democratic ecosystem: The case for Permanent Citizens’ Assemblies
Building on these successes, we must move beyond temporary experiments toward a permanent, citizen-powered democratic ecosystem. Permanent Citizens’ Assemblies (PCAs) offer a structural innovation: they embed citizen deliberation as a continuous, institutionalized part of governance, rather than an occasional consultation. In this vision, PCAs operate across cities, regions, and member states, forming a dense democratic network that complements and invigorates representative institutions. Citizens, selected by sortition and supported by expert facilitation, would deliberate on key issues with real influence over policy agendas. Rather than treating participation as an exception, PCAs normalize it as a core democratic function. In doing so, they help to close legitimacy gaps, re-anchor political decision-making in lived experience, and build a resilient, adaptive Europe from the ground up:
- PCAs can bridge the legitimacy gap by regularly convening diverse, randomly selected citizens they build trust, sustain participation over time and connect ordinary people to decision-making;
- PCAs can complement parliamentary processes from below and provide horizontal legitimacy: by bringing citizens across borders into shared deliberations about EU-level decisions they can advise or even co-shape legislative policies with elected bodies;
- In a multi-demoi Europe, PCAs foster pluralism, solidarity and the democratisation of EU decision-making by linking expert knowledge with lived experiences.
A vibrant PCA ecosystem would not replace parliaments or governments, but would work alongside them, providing a living pulse of democratic engagement capable of navigating the crises and complexities of the 21st century.
3. Scaling Permanent Citizens’ Assemblies: Out, In, and Deep
To realize the full potential of Permanent Citizens’ Assemblies, we must think strategically about how to scale them across Europe—along three critical dimensions.
First, scaling out means expanding PCAs geographically into local, national, and transnational contexts where participatory and deliberative innovations have yet to take root. This requires political will, supportive institutions, and networks of civil society actors who can advocate for assemblies as integral parts of governance, not just one-off experiments.
Second, scaling in demands a relentless focus on quality. PCAs must uphold the highest standards of meaningful deliberation: inclusive and representative selection by sortition, skilled facilitation, balanced expert input, transparency, and—crucially—clear pathways to effective political follow-up. Without such standards, assemblies risk becoming symbolic exercises rather than engines of democratic renewal.
Third, scaling deep calls for embedding PCAs into the cultural and emotional fabric of democracy itself. Assemblies must become more than institutions—they must evolve into democratic rituals that build civic pride, foster political imagination, and shift societal norms toward collective problem-solving. This requires storytelling, education, media engagement, and sustained political leadership committed to cultivating a culture where citizen deliberation is seen as both a right and a responsibility.
Scaling PCAs out, in, and deep will not happen automatically. It demands more than reform – a democratic paradigm change. This requires coordinated action from citizens, civil society, political leaders, and public institutions alike. But if we rise to this challenge, we can lay the foundations for a new democratic ecosystem—one that reconnects power to people. PCAs can build Europe’s resilience since they teach us to negotiate diversity, to transform deep conflict in good conflict and to adapt to changing conditions.
As Bächtiger and Dryzek (2024) write, “In diabolic times, deliberative democracy must be both systemic and insurgent“. PCAs reflect this dual vision – embedded yet transformative – thereby offering hope for democratic renewal in the 21st century.
Conclusion: A Democratic Odyssey for Europe’s Future
Europe stands at a crossroads. Both its founding myths – integration through law and markets – are insufficient for harnessing today’s complexities. Many institutions perform democracy without deep participation. We must move beyond “facade democracy“ to institutional practices that foster engagement and ownership. The challenges of our time demand more than technical fixes—they call for a democratic renaissance rooted in the wisdom, creativity, and collective will of its people. We need a story of living democracy where citizens co-author Europe’s future. Permanent Citizens’ Assemblies offer a bold path forward: a living infrastructure for a democracy that is resilient, inclusive, and future-ready. This vision is already taking shape. The Democratic Odyssey—a People’s Assembly for Europe travelling from Athens, birthplace of democracy, through Florence, cradle of the Renaissance, to Vienna, city of dialogue—symbolizes the journey we must all undertake. It is a journey to reconnect power with people, to reimagine Europe’s democratic foundations, and to renew our shared future from the ground up. If we commit to scaling out, scaling in, and scaling deep, we can transform today’s democratic experiments into tomorrow’s institutions. The time to act is now—Europe’s new democratic horizon is waiting to be claimed.
Ulrike Liebert, Part-time Professor at Florence School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute Florence. This essay builds on my monograph „Europa erneuern! Eine realistische Vision für das 21. Jahrhundert“ (transcript 2019) as well as on two ongoing collaborative European projects: the „Democratic Odyssey“ and „Scaling Democratic Innovations“ (ScaleDem). For further information see www.ulrikeliebert.eu.