Civic Activism in an Intensifying Climate Crisis
Activism meets deliberation: How climate movements are reshaping the role of citizens’ assemblies
What happens when climate activism demands not just policy change—but democratic change? In this in-depth and timely paper, Professor Amanda Machin explores the evolving relationship between climate movements and citizens’ assemblies, tracing how groups like Extinction Rebellion have pushed for assemblies as a response to both environmental and political crisis.
While many assemblies have been state-commissioned, the paper highlights a growing shift: civil society organisations around the world are beginning to commission their own assemblies—from Lebanon to the Maldives, from Germany to the UK—reframing assemblies as strategic tools for counterpower, legitimacy, and long-term systems change. This new wave is challenging the standard model of governance and opening up new political possibilities.
ISWE is proud to host and support this contribution to the field of political systems change. It brings critical insight into the risks, tensions, and transformative potential of assemblies as tools of democratic innovation.
