Can the Decision-Making Process Be Open to Ordinary Citizens? On the Random Selection of Participants in Democratic Innovation
Can the Decision-Making Process Be Open to Ordinary Citizens? On the Random Selection of Participants in Democratic Innovation

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the specific possibility of using random selection in political decision-making. The central question addressed is whether and how lotteries can be employed in the context of political decision-making. To answer this question, the article employs a historical and political argumentative strategy. It traces the historical development and contemporary status of lotteries, including their advantages and disadvantages as well as potential applications in various spheres of life. It then discusses the concept of random selection of individuals in politics. The analysis focuses on the selection of citizens to participate in small-scale deliberative forums (so-called mini-publics), i.e. democratic innovations, which in Poland primarily take the form of citizens’ assemblies. The article discusses the objectives and principles underlying the random selection of participants as well as identifies how a more intensive use of the random selection method for choosing decision-makers may benefit political decision-making. The argument is based on an extensive literature review and an analysis of documents and data available in public records, carried out using the desk research method.

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