New York Times. Op-ed from Hélène Landemore, No Shy Person Left Behind

#DW core group member Hélène Landemore (Yale University) argues in a recent New York Times op-ed that contemporary democracy is structurally biased toward the loudest and most performative voices, thus leaving aside the majority who feel politics is not meant for them. Drawing on her research, she highlights citizens’ assemblies as a powerful institutional innovation capable of “bringing out the shy”: ordinary people, selected by lottery, who deliberate, learn, and collectively shape public decisions. These assemblies, already spreading globally, demonstrate that more inclusive and deliberative forms of democracy can lead to more legitimate, thoughtful, and widely supported outcomes. Her piece makes a compelling case: democratizing our institutions also means redesigning them to include those too often left unheard. Read the article here.