🎅 As the year comes to a close, we wish everyone a restful festive season and a happy New Year! 🙏 We thank to our amazing staff, students, associates, visitors and colleagues for their valuable contributions to our work throughout 2025. 😎 See you all next year!

🔔NEW REPORT: Today the Centre for Deliberative Democracy releases new research showing Australians favour a more engaged democracy. A survey of 4200 adults shows strong support for governments listening between elections and creating deliberative spaces for people to shape decisions. bit.ly/3KE7Lfw

📸 Some highlights from this year’s AusPSA Conference in Melbourne - a great few days of panels, conversations, and reconnecting with colleagues across the discipline. 🙏 A huge thank you to the organising committee and the @unimelb.bsky.social for an excellent program and hosting us so warmly.

🛎️ New Centre Publication 🛎️ Dr Adele Webb examines why exposure to diverse viewpoints does not necessarily ease democratic tensions and can, in fact, intensify polarisation - and what kinds of design choices can help address this. Read full article 👉 buff.ly/jd5ffw3

⚡ ⚡ Big congratulations to our colleague @hansasenbaum.bsky.social, who has been awarded a DECRA for his project, Smart Democracy: Fostering Democratic Agency in the Age of AI ⚡ ⚡ You can view the project here: buff.ly/uBqXfM1

🎉 Big congratulations to our colleague Dr Jordan McSwiney for receiving the Henry Mayer Book Prize for the best book on Australian Politics, awarded at the AusPSA Annual Conference, for his book about far-right political parties in Australia. 🔗 Link to book here: www.routledge.com/Far-Right-Po...

🛎️ This week our Centre is in full force at the Australian Political Studies Association's annual Conference, sharing our research across panels and plenaries on democratic innovations, Australian politics, environmental governance, and political science methods. Conference program: lnkd.in/g3hsFH3z

📸 Some highlights from our conference "Democracy Reimagined: Advancing Democratic Resilience and Renewal" at the University of Canberra this week, convened with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Australia New Zealand & Australian Resilient Democracy Research and Data Network 🙌 Photo Credit: David Beach

📣 Call for Papers: 2026 ECPR Joint Sessions Democratic Innovations as Feminist Publics: Principles and Infrastructures (co-directed by Olivia Mendoza, one of our PhD students) 📌 Abstract due 3 December 2025 🔗 Find out more: buff.ly/YKmiThM

🛎️ New Centre Visitor A warm welcome to Dr Melisa Ross, who has joined us this month as a Visiting Fellow from the University of Bremen. Mel brings deep expertise in citizen participation, deliberation, and democratic innovations. We look forward to the next month ahead!

⏳ The countdown begins! We’re preparing for our international conference at the University of Canberra, supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Australia and New Zealand 🙌 With over 40 speakers and 10 thematic panels, the event explores new perspectives and practical insights.

Last week, our Centre seminar featured Professor Ron Levy and Professor Kate Ogg (ANU, Law), presenting their recently published articles in the Federal Law Review’s special issue on Deliberative Rights Theory. 👇 Links to their articles in comments

🚨 Final seminar for the year! Emanuela Savini teams up with Olivier Schulbaum and Nadia Nadesan from Platoniq Foundation for an interactive session exploring how creative practices can open up new ways of thinking about democracy. 👉 Register here: events.humanitix.com/enhancing-de...

🚀 Launched on Wednesday, you can now download our Guidebook for Deliberative Engagement: Key Features and Practical Insights 👉 researchprofiles.canberra.edu.au/en/publicati... We’re grateful to the NSW Government and the Australian Government for supporting the development of this Guidebook.

🤖 Robots in the Room: Should We Include AI in Democracy? Join us for a drink to discuss how artificial intelligence might shape the future of democratic participation 17 November 2025, 7pm-8.30pm Verity Lane Market, Louie Louie Room, Canberra Register events.humanitix.com/robots-in-th...

We welcomed @mathesonrussell.bsky.social from the @aucklanduni.bsky.social. Matheson presented part of his upcoming book examining the limits of electoral representation and exploring deliberative models as alternatives. 🔗 Learn more about Matheson’s work: profiles.auckland.ac.nz/m-russell/ab...

🎉 Coming soon: Something we’ve been working on for a while is nearly here 🎉 Guidebook for Deliberative Engagement: Key Features and Practical Insights - developed with the support of the New South Wales Government and the Australian Government 🙌 Stay tuned!

🔎 What is deliberative reasoning and how can we measure it? This chapter by Simon Niemeyer and Francesco Veri introduce the Deliberative Reasoning Index method for assessing how a group’s positions align with deliberative reasoning ideals. Download it here: academic.oup.com/book/44646/c...

▶️ ICYMI: Watch our previous webinar, Transforming Public Input into Policy Impact How can community voices be meaningfully integrated into policymaking while navigating the realities and constraints of government? 🔗 Watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Jc...

What does #democraticgovernance look like in the context of emergencies? 🚨 Re-sharing Mikko Värttö's research on deliberative mini-publics organised globally in connection to the COVID-19 pandemic, looking at #democraticinnovations in emergencies👇 OPEN ACCESS: delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1...

How can #policy discussions & #adaptation strategies centre #women’s voices & needs? Should they? 📍ICYMI: Check out our Dispatch from Sub-Saharan Africa highlighting #women as important actors in the fight against #climatechange 🔖 www.publicdeliberation.net/social-capit...

📢 Have you registered for our next Strengthening Democracy webinar? Join Distinguished Professor John Dryzek and Dr Joshua Rhee (AMPLIFY) moderated by Professor Simon Niemeyer, for a deep dive into the theory and practice of mini-publics. Register here: events.humanitix.com/roi-for-demo...

🚨 Event alert! Join @deldemucan.bsky.social next Tuesday for another session of their monthly seminar series. 👏 📚 Democratic Innovation or Expensive Boondoggle? 📆 October 7 ⏰ 12pm-1pm AEDT 📍 Hybrid Click the 🔗 to register! ⬇️ events.humanitix.com/roi-for-demo...

📣 Upcoming seminar: Democratic Innovation or Expensive Boondoggle? The value of mini-publics in theory and practice This seminar revisits some of the key questions around the growing use of mini-publics to consider their potential and limits. 👉 Register here: events.humanitix.com/roi-for-demo...

🔎 From Our Archives (open access): What is Q methodology and how can it be used to study public deliberation? 📖 Check out @lucyjparry.bsky.social chapter in our book, Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy (Oxford University Press). 👉 Download the chapter here: academic.oup.com/book/44646/c...

For #adaptation to work well, those most affected by #climatechange must be included in decisions 🌏 New article! 💡 doi.org/10.1080/0964... I explore how #civilsociety & donors influence adaptation in Vietnam, and have a role in #accountability @environmentalpol.bsky.social @deldemucan.bsky.social

📣 New Partnership! We’re pleased to partner with Young Australians in International Affairs (YAIA) to support emerging leaders in global affairs. As part of this, we are proud to sponsor YAIA’s 2025 Europe and Eurasia Fellow, Lachie Macfarlan. Read his latest blog here: tinyurl.com/3v668k9h

ICYMI 🚨 Marit Hammond on how #deliberativedemocracy can be understood as 'a political culture marked by a citizen-initiated consciousness and motivation toward unending democratic social critique' ✊ ⬇️ delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1...

Can deliberative mini-publics reduce confirmation bias? 🤔 In JDD’s newest article, Kaisa Herne, Kimmo Grönlund, and Peter Soderlund studied a local-level mini-public on the topic of transportation policies to answer this question. 🇫🇮 ⬇️ delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1...

📸 Sharing some snapshots from the JDD’s participation at the ECPR #DemocraticInnovations Standing Group Reception! Check out the key points from our editor @sbussu.bsky.social's speech at the event 👇 www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Yesterday was international #democracyday! Democracy grows when people come together to talk, listen, exchange ideas, test arguments, & imagine new futures. We thank our community of students, staff, associates & partners for their key work in keeping the democratic conversation alive, every day.

Check out this open access resource by MosaicLab Co: "Facilitating Deliberation: A Practical Guide" It offers insights to design and facilitate constructive conversations with step-by-step approaches, useful tips, and lessons from the field. Download a copy here: www.mosaiclab.com.au/the-big-book

We are delighted to celebrate two of our PhD students who recently earned their Doctor titles and will graduate at the upcoming University of Canberra graduation ceremony. 👩‍🎓Dr Friedel Marquardt and 👨‍🎓Dr Mohammad Abdul-Hwas Read more about their PhDs on our LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/posts/centre...

🔔New Centre Publication (open access) Building on the 2021 Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Crisis, John Dryzek and co-authors explore how citizen deliberation can play a bigger, even institutionalised, role in global climate governance. 🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

▶️ ICYMI: Watch the latest seminar from our Strengthening Democracy: A Research-Practice Exchange series, Expanding the Demos: How Do Nonhumans Have Political Agency? with Lakshmi Venugopal and @shrishteebajpai.bsky.social 📺 Watch the recording here: youtube.com/watch?v=eM9H3LzkpUw&feature=youtu.be

Newest JDD article available now! ⬇️ Young Jee Kim analysed transcripts of online deliberations to examine whether #socialstatus translates into #deliberativeadvantage regarding how individuals deliberate and how opinions form. 💬 👉🏽 delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1...

This week our PhD student Dakila Yee gave his confirmation seminar titled “Tipping Green? Discourses of Low-Carbon Transitions in the Philippines under a Populist Regime”, which examines how environmental governance and climate policies form under populist leadership in the Philippines.

🔔 New Centre Publication (open access) Latest publication by our PhD student @wendyconwaylamb.bsky.social and co-authors, including Centre associates Pierrick Chalaye & Emerson M. Sanchez in the new book by @oliverescobar.bsky.social & Stephen Elstub 🙌 🔗 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

🛎️ New Centre Publication (open access) 🛎️ Congratulations to our Visiting Research Fellow, Dr Hali Aprimadya, on his new publication! His work offers a fresh perspective on policy implementation, grounded in the rich tradition of interpretive research. 🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

Upcoming Event in Victoria: The Big Deliberative Debrief | 27 August Dr Emanuela Savini will represent the Centre at this event where the effectiveness of deliberative engagement as required by the Victorian Local Government Act 2020 is considered. Register: events.humanitix.com/the-big-deli...

Last week, two @participedia.bsky.social Schools were held in China and Japan, with @hansasenbaum.bsky.social representing the Centre. Hans explored how digital tools and AI can make democracy more deliberative and engaging. 👏 Congratulations to Participedia for this innovative teaching journey!

Upcoming seminar in our Strengthening Democracy seminar series! 📢 Transforming Public Input into Policy Impact 📅 Tuesday 2 September, 12pm-1pm 📍 Hybrid: Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra & Zoom 🔗 Register via events.humanitix.com/challenge-ac...

🔔 New Centre Publication [open access] In Political Studies Review, a new article by Dr Jordan McSwiney from our Building Democratic Resilience research cluster and ARC project, the paper focuses on Australia's response to the 2002 Bali Bombings. 🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

🔔 New open access article in Political Studies from Selen Ercan, Jordan McSwiney, Emily Beausoleil, Claire Fitzpatrick and @andreafelicetti.bsky.social! The paper examines two forms of democratic resilience in the public sphere and the role of political leaders in each. 🔗 doi.org/10.1177/0032...

Landed in Rio some days ago for the @participedia.bsky.social School on Democratic Innovations with Traditional and Indigenous Communities. We are hosting two public roundtables next week, on decolonising knowledge production, and on intersectional leadership. Come by if you’re around!

🌎☀️ Vamos lá! Acompanhe de 27 a 31 de julho para saber tudo sobre a programação da escola! Obrigado a todos que tornaram isso possível!

Want to work on the frontiers of dem theory with v. smart and lovely people @hansasenbaum.bsky.social, @lucyjparry.bsky.social & Graham Smith? They're recruiting a part-time research associate for a new project on non-human representation and participation vacancies.westminster.ac.uk/hrvacancies/...

☀️ Vol 17:3 Bridging the gap between #ParticipatoryDemocracy & #ParticipatoryResearch, the authors (🧵⬇️) ask what they can learn from each other, offering a critical reflection on how shared commitments of both fields can be realised. 🤔 #OpenAccess #PoliSky

citizen deliberation🤝climate research decision-making DISPATCH from 🇳🇱 Remco Van der Stoep & co share insights from the project Climate Research in Dialogue, which aimed to bring Dutch residents into the conversation about #climateresearch priorities www.publicdeliberation.net/democratisin...

🔔 New Book Alert 🔔 "The Sciences of the Democracies" by our colleague Jean-Paul Gagnon and over 30 contributors challenges us to rethink how we understand and study democracy. Congratulations to all the authors! Open access download here: uclpress.co.uk/book/the-sci...