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Sortition and the Consolidation of Democracy

10 October 2013 - 11 October 2013

Time: 12:00 - 12:00am
Venue: Day one: Robert Tong Room, Queen's Bldg; Day two: LG01 People's Palace

This seminar is part of a series on the political value of sortition (random selection) put on by CEVIPOF at Sciences Po in Paris. It is the first in the series to be held in Britain and the first attempt to focus the discussion on a particular modern problem. It is put on in collaboration with the School of Politics and International Relations at QMUL.

There are two seminar sessions: 2.00 pm- 5.30pm on Thursday 10th October and 9.30 am – 1.00 pm on Friday 11th October. In them we will set out to explore how the practice of selecting citizens for public office by lottery, the mainstay of Athenian democracy and late medieval popular republicanism, could contribute to the creation of stable, participatory institutions and procedures in modern states. The proposal is that this could be of immense value for states which are undertaking transitions to democratic rule or are seeking to strengthen their democratic practices.

Programme:

THURSDAY 10TH OCTOBER, Robert Tong Room, Queen's Building

2.00 pm. Oliver Dowlen (ISRF Fellow QMUL).

               Introduction to the problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation.

2.45 pm. Conall Boyle (Independent Scholar)

               Sortition for Citizens.

3.30 pm.   TEA

4.00 pm. Peter Stone (Trinity College Dublin)

              Democracy and Good Government.

5.00 pm. Katrina Belamoti (Politeia 2.0)

              Politeia 2.00: Democracy Reborn

5.30 pm. SESSION CLOSES

FRIDAY 11TH OCTOBER, Seminar Room, Lock-keeper's Grad Centre

9.30 am. Mindy Peden (John Carroll University)

            Articulating Democratic Power: lotteries and the transition from elite bias.

10.30 am. Oliver Dowlen (ISRF Fellow QMUL)

              Sortition and the Consolidation of Democracy

11.30 am. TEA

12.00 noon. Gil Delannoi (Sciences Po)

               Sortition in Comparison with Other Procedures

1.00 pm. GENERAL DISCUSSION

1.30 pm SESSION CLOSES

Each individual presentation will include the opportunity for general discussion.

For further information contact Oliver Dowlen:

e.o.dowlen@qmul.ac.uk, or ollydowlen@yahoo.com

To register for the event (free!), follow the links below:

Day One - http://sortitiondayone.eventbrite.co.uk/

Day Two - http://sortitiondaytwo.eventbrite.co.uk/

(if you want to attend both days, you will need to register through both links above)

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