From Representative to Represented Mini-Publics: How Mini-Publics’ Outputs are Shaped by Representation

Abstract

Research has shown that deliberative mini-publics have the potential to mitigate some of the deficiencies of contemporary representative democracy. To this end, mini-publics are becoming increasingly connected to other institutions of the democratic system so that their outputs can be transmitted to policy-makers. This article argues that the literature has underappreciated that mini-publics’ outputs are not simply transmitted from one institution to another. Instead, the transmission of outputs from mini-publics to other sites in the democratic system is always mediated by representation, which necessarily transforms outputs to some extent. The article identifies the following three main reasons for this: mini-publics’ representatives must interpret, perform, and negotiate outputs. Drawing on a least-likely case-study of Agora’s representation of the Brussels Citizens’ Assembly, it illustrates how these issues are pervasive even when representatives are primarily interested in the literal and faithful transmission of mini-publics’ outputs. The findings highlight how representatives struggle with representing mini-publics’ outputs.