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CENTRE FOR DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE END OF YEAR REPORT 2023

The Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance (CDDGG) is the world-leading research unit for scholarly and applied research in deliberative governance and democratic innovations. Our team of researchers bring together diverse fields of expertise, and collectively we advance a common research agenda that examines how deliberation can empower people to shape political decisions that affect their lives. We examine the ways in which political deliberation and discourse can be reasonable, reflective, and inclusive, and share these aspirations in both our research and teaching practices. CDDGG is based in the Faculty of Business, Government and Law at the University of Canberra.

Centre staff and students at the university grounds in spring 2022, University of Canberra

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear colleagues and friends, As we conclude another fantastic year, I am delighted to present our annual report—a vibrant collage illustrating our activities and achievements in research, teaching and public engagement throughout 2023. This year, our work has continued to shape conversations and inspire innovations not only within scholarly circles, but also among practitioners in government and community sectors, both here in Australia and internationally. We have provided novel insights to strengthen democracy across all levels, from local to global, and enhance its resilience in the face of multiple crises. We have established new collaborations and founded a global network of researchers to develop innovative ways of granting everyday citizens a meaningful role in global governance.

Within the pages that follow, you will find snapshots of all these endeavours and much more. For us, this annual report is not just a summary of various activities and achievements; it is a celebration of a vibrant research community anchored at our Centre. We take immense pride in nurturing and sustaining this community both here at the University of Canberra and across the globe. I am grateful to everyone for supporting this community, whether financially and intellectually, and contributing to its success and thriving spirit. Wishing you all the very best for the upcoming New Year!

Professor Selen Ayirtman Ercan Director Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PUBLICATIONS

ACADEMIC EVENTS

RESEARCH FUNDING AND PRIZES

SEMINAR SERIES

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, AND WEBINARS

VISITORS

ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS

TEACHING

MULTIMEDIA ENGAGEMENTS

ACADEMIC CITIZENSHIP

WELCOME

CONGRATULATIONS

A SOCIAL SPACE

THE YEAR AHEAD

MEMBERS

PUBLICATIONS

Download the book here.

↑

→

Hans Asenbaum’s The Politics of Becoming: Anonymity

Printed copy of How Deliberation Happens: Enabling

& Democracy in the Digital Age arrives in Canberra.

Deliberative Reason by Professors Simon Niemeyer and John S. Dryzek published in the American Political Science Review.

In August 2023, we celebrated Dr Hans Asenbaum’s new (open access) book with Oxford University Press, The Politics of Becoming – Anonymity and Democracy in the Digital Age. The book focuses on practical solutions to the problems of discrimination and identity confinement in political participation. Throughout the book, Dr Asenbaum hopes to facilitate an interdisciplinary exchange between different academic disciplines and different strands of democratic theory. Dr Asenbaum has been intrigued by questions about participatory and radical democracy for a long time. He is particularly interested in the role of our identities and the way we judge each other 2

on our looks when come together to do politics. With a desire to understand and question this, Dr Asenbaum developed a curiosity about the role of anonymity in democracy. He asks, ‘What happens if we can’t tell each other’s race, gender, sexuality, class, age etc.?’ He began exploring this question at the University of Westminster during his PhD, under the supervision of Professor Graham Smith. The result of this investigation is this new book, which provides an in-depth analysis and theory of anonymity in democratic participation.

Our publications demonstrate the wide application of deliberative democracy in the fields of political theory, environmental politics, political psychology, and bioethics.

BOOK

BOOK CHAPTERS

Asenbaum, Hans. The Politics of Becoming: Anonymity and Democracy in the Digital Age. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Boswell, John, Hendriks, Carolyn M. and Ercan, Selen A. ‘Beyond citizens’ assemblies: Expanding the repertoire of democratic reform.’ In: De Gruyter Handbook of Citizens’ Assemblies, Min Reuchamps, Julien Vrydagh and Yanina Welp (eds.) Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.

Curato, Nicole. ‘Democratic Innovations.’ In: Comparative Politics, 6th edition, Daniele Caramani (ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ercan, Selen A. and Vromen, Ariadne. ‘Qualitative research in political science.’ In: How to Conduct Qualitative Research in Social Science, Liamputtong, Pranee (ed.) United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. Mendonça, Ricardo, Ercan, Selen A. and Asenbaum, Hans. ‘Além das palavras: Uma abordagem multidimensional para a democracia deliberativa.’ In: Crises da democracia e esfera pública: Debates contemporâneos, Ricardo Mendonça and Rayza Sarmento (eds.) Belo Horizonte: Editora UFMG.   Rountree, John and Curato, Nicole. ‘Citizens’ assemblies and the public sphere.’ In: De Gruyter Handbook of Citizens’ Assemblies, Min Reuchamps, Julien Vrydagh and Yanina Welp (eds.) Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Alnemr, Nardine, Ercan, Selen A., Vlahos, Nick, Dryzek, John S., Leigh, Andrew and Neblo, Michael. Advancing Deliberative Reform in a Parliamentary System: Prospects for Recursive Representation. European Political Science Review, 1–18.

Asenbaum, Hans. Whiteness, Masculinities and Radical Democracy: Mapping Four Spaces of (Dis)appearance. Journal of Gender Studies 00(00), 1–12.

Asenbaum, Hans, Machin, Amanda, Gagnon, Jean-Paul, Orlie, Melissa, Smith, James Louis and Leong, Diana. The Nonhuman Condition: Radical Democracy Through New Materialist Lense. Contemporary Political Theory 0(0), 1–32.

Asenbaum, Hans and Meriluoto, Taina. Special Issue Editorial: Democratic Self-Transformations: Identity, Performance and the Politics of Becoming, Democratic Theory 10(2), 1-4.

Ercan, Selen A., Asenbaum, H. and R. Mendonça R. (2022) Performing Democracy: Nonverbal protest through a democratic lens, Performance Research 27 (3/4): 26-37.

Jasser, Greta, McSwiney, Jordan, Pertwee, Ed and Zannettou, Savvas. ‘Welcome to #GabFam’: Far-right virtual community on Gab. New Media and Society 25(7): 1728-1745.

Nicol, Dianne, Dryzek, John S., Niemeyer, Simon, Curato, Nicole and Paxton, Rebecca. The Australian Citizens’ Jury and Global Citizens’ Assembly on Genome Editing. American Journal of Bioethics 23(7): 61-63.

Nicol, Dianne, Niemeyer, Simon, Paxton, Rebecca and Rudge, Christopher. Points to consider in the development of national human genome editing policy. Cambridge Prisms: Precision Medicine: 1-27.

Niemeyer, Simon, Veri, Francesco, Dryzek, John S. and Bächtiger, André. How Deliberation Happens: Enabling Deliberative Reason. American Political Science Review 1-18.

Scudder, Mary F., Ercan, Selen A. and McCallum, Kerry. Institutional listening in deliberative democracy: Towards a deliberative logic of transmission. Politics 43(1): 38-53.

REPORTS

Pickering, Jonathan. Can democracy accelerate sustainability transformations? Policy coherence for participatory co-existence. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics 23(2): 141-148.

Pickering, Jonathan, Patterson, James, Biermann, Frank, Burch, Sarah, Elliott, Lorraine, Gupta, Aarti, Inoue, Cristina Yumie Aoki, Ishii, Atsushi, Kalfagianni, Agni, Meadowcroft, James, Okereke, Chukwumerije and Persson, Åsa. Pluralizing Debates on the Anthropocene Requires Engaging with the Diversity of Existing Scholarship. Annals of the American Association of Geographers 113(2): e-i-e-vi.

Webb, Adele. Book Review: The Sovereign Trickster: Death and Laughter in the Age of Duterte by Vincente L. Rafael. Southeast Asian Studies 12(1), 202-206.

Curato, Nicole, Parry, Lucy J. and van Dijk, Lisa. UK Citizens’ Jury on Human Genome Editing Evaluation Report. Wellcome Connecting Science.

Curato, Nicole, Chalaye, Pierrick, Conway-Lamb, Wendy, De Pryck, Kari, Elstub, Stephen, Morán, Azucena, Oppold, Daniel, Romero, Javier, Ross, Melisa, Sanchez, Emerson, Sari, Novieta, Stasiak, Dorota, Tilikete, Selma, Veloso, Lucas, von Schneidemesser, Dirk, & Werner, Hannah. Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Crisis Evaluation Report. University of Canberra.

Fallorina, Ross, Lanuza, Jose Mari H., Felix, Juan Gabriel, Sanchez, Ferdinand, Ong, Jonathan C. and Curato, Nicole. From disinformation to influence operations: The evolution of disinformation in three electoral cycles in the Philippines. Internews. Kaye S, Carnegie G, Vromen A, Wang T, Ketley N, Jedzini, Anne, Turl J, Campbell B and Johnson A. Review Panel Report of Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra. External Faculty Review.

WORKING PAPER SERIES

2023/1 Mathias Poulsen “The Junk Playground as Agora: Experimenting with Playful Democratic Assemblages”.

2023/2 Lucy J. Parry “’It’s not my job to engineer you an outcome’: Integrity Challenges in Deliberative Mini-Publics”.

ACADEMIC EVENTS

DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY & DIGITAL MEDIA SEMINAR SERIES

↑ Future-Proofing the Public Sphere: Prof Axel Bruns in conversation with Prof John S. Dryzek moderated by Prof Selen A. Ercan. University of Canberra, 16 May 2023.

We co-hosted the Digital Media and the Public Sphere Seminar Series in collaboration with the News & Media Research Centre of the University of Canberra. Curated as a three-part event, this seminar series featured two worldleading scholars from the fields of digital media studies and deliberative democracy. On the 2 May, Prof Axel Bruns gave a hybrid seminar titled ‘The Filter in Our (?) Heads: Digital Media and Polarisation’ at the Queensland University of Technology. This was followed by Prof John S. Dryzek’s hybrid seminar on the 9 May, titled ‘Deliberative Democracy for Diabolical Times’ at the University of Canberra. To conclude the series, Professors Axel Bruns and John Dryzek engaged in a thought-provoking conversation titled ‘Future-Proofing the Public Sphere,’ which was moderated by Prof Selen A. Ercan on the 16 May at the University of Canberra.

PARTICIPEDIA SUMMER SCHOOL ON RADICAL DEMOCRACY

Prof Selen A. Ercan and Dr Hans Asenbaum participated in the Radical Democracy Summer School, a week-long event organised by Participedia and Simon Fraser University’s Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERi) in Vancouver, Canada, between 4 and 10 June 2023. The program offered a dynamic blend of workshops, guest lectures, local field trips, collaborative group work, and shared meals. Selen, Hans and Ricardo led a half-day session on democratic forms and agency examining different forms and practices of democratic agency, from protest to participatory budgeting, to citizens’ assemblies, to digital democracy. By exploring the connections between theoretical concepts and practical applications, they probed the fundamental question of what it means to embody radical democracy. The session also included a lively discussion on research methods for studying democratic practices and featured multiple methods from their book ‘Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy’ (Oxford University Press, 2022).

The program and report of the Radical Democracy Summer School can be downloaded here. ← Prof Selen A. Ercan and Dr Hans Asenbaum, together with their copresenter Associate Professor Ricardo Mendonça, arrives in Vancouver, Canada for the Radical Democracy Summer School. 5 June 2023.

THE BIG LIE: PUBLIC CONVERSATION AND NETWORKING EVENT

↑ Prof Jennifer Stromer-Galley of Syracuse University was our featured speaker in our first public event of 2023.

On 28 February, the public event The Big Lie: How Rhetoric and Tactics of Disinformation Delegitimize Democracy was held at the Juliet Room, Verity Lane Market. The keynote address was delivered by Professor Jennifer StromerGalley, Senior Associate Dean at the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, and the former President of the Association of Internet Researchers. Professor Stromer-Galley presented her latest research findings, shedding light on the consequences of disinformation exemplified by the events of 6 January 2021, when thousands of

rioters attacked the US Capitol, driven by the false claim that Donald Trump had been unfairly denied the presidency. The conversation, moderated by Dr Jordan McSwiney, included renowned scholars Associate Prof Andrea Carson (La Trobe University) and Prof Mathieu O’Neil (University of Canberra). The event was a joint effort by the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, and the News and Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra.

PHD RESEARCH TRAINING ON INDUCTIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Dr Adele Webb and Dr Hans Asembaum convened this year’s PhD Research Training session on 10 May at the Centre. Dr Adele presented different ways of conducting inductive research, highlighting analytical methods such as historical archival research, discourse analysis, and interpretative interviewing. Dr Hans introduced the concept of democratic theorizing through an inductive method that incorporates grounded theory, participatory research, assemblage theory and decolonial methods. Aside from enriching participants’ understanding

of inductive research methods, the workshop also provided a platform for PhD students and Early Career Researchers to share their experiences in addressing various methodological challenges they face.

↓ Dr Adele Webb as a featured speaker during the HDR Research Training on Inductive Research Methods at the Fishbowl. 10 May 2023.

EVALUATION REPORT LAUNCH: EVALUATING THE FIRST GLOBAL ASSEMBLY ON THE CLIMATE AND ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

↑ The Global Assembly’s Evaluation Report was launched with over a hundred participants via Zoom on 20 June 2023.

On 20 June, we hosted the evaluation report launch of the first Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. In a panel discussion, authors of the Evaluation Report presented their findings on key aspects that were evaluated: demographic diversity; the facilitation process; the range of discourses on climate change invoked during deliberations; issues of power and inequality; and the Global Assembly’s impact on global climate governance. Featured speakers included Prof Nicole Curato and Wendy Conway-Lamb from University of Canberra (Australia), Azucena Morán from Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (Germany); Dr Melisa Ross from University of Bremen (Germany); Lucas Veloso from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil); Dr Kari De Pryck from University of Geneva (Switzerland); and Prof Stephen Elstub from Newcastle University (United Kingdom). Following the insightful presentations, discussants Claire Mellier, one of the members of the Global Assembly’s Central Circle, and Granaz Baloch, one of the cluster facilitators, shared their reflections.

DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE WORKSHOP: THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND EXTREMIST ATTACKS

This year, the Centre was delighted to host an in-person workshop for our Australian Research Council funded Discovery Project Democratic Resilience: The Public Sphere and Extremist Attacks in 2-4 August at the University of Canberra. We were joined by our international project partners Dr Emily Beausoleil and Dr Claire Fitzpatrick from the Victoria University of Wellington (Aotearoa New Zealand), and Prof. Ian O’Flynn from Newcastle University (UK), along with Dr Jensen Sass from the Australian National University. The two-day workshop provided an important opportunity to come together and further theorise our concept of “democratic resilience,” drawing on the extensive case research we have been conducting on responses to violent extremist attacks in democracies around the world.

↑ Prof Ian O’Flynn, Dr Jensen Sass, Prof John S. Dryzek, Dr Jordan McSwiney, Prof Selen A. Ercan, Dr Emily Beausoleil and Dr Claire Fitzpatrick attending the Democratic Resilience Workshop. University of Canberra, 2-4 August 2023.

DELIBERATIVE SYSTEMS AND DELIBERATIVE ASSEMBLAGES: EXPLORING THE INTERSECTION AND FUTURE OF THE RESEARCH AGENDAS

↓ A workshop featuring Visiting Scholar Associate Prof Sonia Bussu and Prof John S. Dryzek. University of Canberra, 20 September 2023.

On 20 September, our PhD student Wendy ConwayLamb convened a half-day workshop ‘Deliberative systems and deliberative assemblages: Exploring the intersection and future of the research agendas’ at the Centre. The workshop featured Prof John S. Dryzek’s presentation on the comparative evaluation of deliberative systems while our visiting PhD student, Lucas Veloso, offered a nuanced examination on the relational critique of deliberative systems. Subsequently, Dr Hans Asenbaum presented his work on democratic assemblage, and Visiting Scholar Associate Prof Sonia Bussu from the University of Birmingham discussed examples of ‘participation as assemblage’ drawing on her work on the legislative theatre as a democratic space.

RESEARCH FUNDING AND PRIZES 19

Congratulations to Distinguished Prof John S. Dryzek, for being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Australian Political Studies Association (APSA) during the award ceremony held at the University of Sydney on 29 November, in recognition of his exceptional achievement and contributions to political studies and to APSA.

Centre staff Prof Selen A. Ercan, Prof Nicole Curato, Dr Hans Asenbaum and Dr Jordan McSwiney goes to Sydney for the inception meeting of a new project with our industry partners.

Congratulations to our own Distinguished Prof John S. Dryzek who has been elected to the British Academy on 23 July, for his international standing as a scholar of political science, democratic theory and practice at all levels from the local to the global, political philosophy, environmental politics and climate governance.

Congratulations to our Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr Jordan McSwiney, for being accepted into the Younger Fellow Visiting Program at the Centre for Research on Extremism (C-REX), at the University of Oslo. During his fellowship, Jordan shared his work on far-right violent extremism and political parties before leading scholars of right-wing extremism, hate crime and political violence.

Dr Adele Webb, along with Dr Katharina Esau of Queensland University of Technology’s Digital Media Research Centre in Brisbane, secured a 2023 workshop grant worth $11,000 from the Australian Political Studies Association, to organise a workshop on ‘Future Proofing the Public Sphere’ at QUT in March 2024.

Prof Simon Niemeyer, along with a consortium of researchers from Sweden, Finland and the UK, received a three million Swedish Krona project funded by Formas, a government research council for sustainable development, and led by the University of Stockholm. Based in the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the project will analyse the impact of the Swedish Climate Assembly.

Prof Simon Niemeyer received a Mercator Fellowship in conjunction with his collaboration with researchers at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. He will be working on the design, implementation and analysis of a deliberative mini public on the use of genome editing in the food industry in Germany in January 2024. Prof Niemeyer also secured a four-month fellowship with the HanseWissenschaftskolleg (Institute for Advanced Study) in Delmenhorst, Germany. During this fellowship, he will be working on his book manuscript, and collaborating with Europe-based partners on various research projects.

Launched this year!

See the evaluation report here.

The Global Citizens’ Assembly Network (GloCAN) is a research collective that generates actionable insights to inform policymakers, funders, process designers, advocates and the wider community of practice designing, implementing, and evaluating global citizens’ assemblies. The Network was founded this year, after the launch of the evaluation report of the world’s first Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency. The first phase of GloCAN’s work is funded by the European Climate Foundation.

SEMINAR SERIES

AVERAGE SIZE OF ATTENDEES PER SEMINAR

MOST ATTENDED SEMINAR

Evaluation Report Launch: Evaluating the first Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Crisis

TOTAL NUMBER OF SEMINARS

34 100 ATTENDEEES

34 27

ATTENDEES PER SEMINAR

2 Feb 14 Feb 21 Feb 21 Feb 28 Feb 28 Feb 14 Mar 21 Mar 18 Apr 2 May 9 May 16 May 6 Jun 20 Jun 27 Jun 25 Jul 25 Jul 1 Aug 4 Aug 8 Aug 9 Aug 15 Aug 22 Aug 30 Aug 5 Sep 12 Sep 19 Sep 26 Sep 3 Oct 31 Oct 7 Nov 14 Nov 21 Nov 5 Dec

0 28

90 29

↑ Our seminars take place on Tuesdays at 11 am after our weekly morning tea and are attended both in person and online. Seminars draw attendance by our colleagues in Canberra as well as from around the world.

← Our Centre’s PhD graduate Dr Kei Nishiyama returned to the Centre to present his ethnographic work on youth activists in Kyoto, Japan. University of Canberra. 22 August 2023.

↑ Dr Jonathan Hutchinson from the University of Sydney kicked off our Paths to Digital Democracy Series, asking how generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automation might be undertaken to produce social good. 9 August 2023.

↑ In this special seminar co-hosted with the Canberra Law School, Prof Alison Young discussed the concept of dialogue in the context of constitutional reforms and the UK Constitution. University of Canberra. 11 August 2023.

DEEPENING CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT

Our seminars are available to watch on demand on our YouTube channel:

2 February Brigitte Geissel, Goethe University Book Launch: New Books in Democracy: The Future of Self-Governing, Thriving Democracies WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

21 February Andre Bächtiger, University of Stuttgart   Good and ideal democracy: How to design it

28 February Katharina Esau, Queensland University of Technology The Quality of Connections: Encouraging Deliberative Reciprocity and Inclusive Listening as Antidote to Polarized Online Debate

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

14 March Matteo Bonotti, Monash University Linguistic prejudice and electoral discrimination: What can political theory learn from sociolinguistics?

21 March Francesco Veri, University of Zurich Can artificial facilitators enhance deliberation? The case of the Swiss Citizens’ Assembly

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

18 April Baogang He, Deakin University   The Logic of Randomness: Can lottery democracy really replace electoral democracy?

6 June Min Reuchamps, Catholic University of Louvain, Julien Vrydagh, University of Stuttgart, Yanina Welp, The Graduate Institute, Geneva, Nicole Curato, University of Canberra, Baogang He, Deakin University, Franziska Maier, University of Stuttgart   Book Launch: Handbook Citizens’ Assemblies

WATCH ON YOUTUBE → WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

27 June Lucas Veloso, Federal University of Minas Gerais Anti-Anthropocentric Democracy: Devices of Extra-Human Representation and Expression

25 July Dannica Fleuss, Dublin City University Book Workshop: Radical Communicative Action

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

IN-PERSON (NO RECORDING)

1 August Ian O’Flynn, Newcastle University   Vetoes Rights in Power-Sharing Democracies: A Justificatory Test

4 August Emily Beausoleil, Victoria University of Wellington   Decolonising Deliberation: Experiments from Aotearoa New Zealand

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

NO LINK; RECORDING NOT PERMITTED

8 August Alison Young, University of Cambridge Democratic Dialogue and the UK Constitution – Myth or Reality?

22 August Kei Nishiyama, Kaichi International University Compounding Injustice: Youth climate activism and epistemic oppressions in the public sphere

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

30 August Erin O’Brien, Queensland University of Technology   Investing for social change: political participation & market lobbying

19 September Sonia Bussu, University of Birmingham Participation as Assemblage

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

26 September Anne Nygaard Jedzini, University of Canberra Unpacking power in democratic innovations: A systematic review of how power is shared in Australian local governments

3 October Hoi Kong, The University of British Columbia Deliberative Democratic Constitutional Referendums

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

DEMOCRATIZING ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

14 February Adaugo Pamela Nwakanma, People Powered From Black Lives Matter to EndSARS: Women’s Socio-Political Power and the Transnational Movement for Black Lives, Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance

21 February Jane Suiter, Dublin City University Assessing the potential of climate change assemblies to counteract strategic actors through “communicative flows”

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

20 June Nicole Curato, University of Canberra, Wendy Conway-Lamb, University of Canberra, Azucena Morán, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, Melisa Ross, University of Bremen, Lucas Veloso, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Kari De Pryck, University of Geneva, Stephen Elstub, Newcastle University, Claire Mellier, Iswe Foundation, Granaz Baloch, Cluster facilitator Evaluation Report Launch: Evaluating the first Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Crisis

25 July Dannica Fleuss, Dublin City University   The Goals of Climate Change Deliberation: Empathizing With “The Other Side” and/or getting the “Facts Right”

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

12 September Udisha Saklani, University of Monash    Environmental governance, local consent and the changing politics of dams

DIGITAL MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE

2 May Axel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology The Filter in Our (?) Heads: Digital Media and Polarisation

9 May John Dryzek, University of Canberra Deliberative Democracy for Diabolical Times

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

16 May Axel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology, John Dryzek, University of Canberra    Future-Proofing the Public Sphere

9 August Jonathon Hutchinson, University of Sydney Civic Algorithms: A digital intermediation challenge

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

15 August Asta Zelenkauskaite, Drexler University A framework for digital resilience: Lessons learned from the Russia trolling case

5 September Karoline Andrea Ihlebæk, Tine Ustad Figenschou, Oslo Metropolitan University ‘Alternative’ right-wing media and strategic action fields: Political contestations of journalistic norms

WATCH ON YOUTUBE →

IDENTITY, DEMOCRACY AND SELF-TRANSFORMATION

31 October Anne Phillips, London School of Economics Beyond the binary: Would abolishing the legal status of gender undermine efforts to address the under-representation of women in politics?

7 November Taina Meriluoto, University of Helsinki Self-activism: Politicization from the margins in the era of ‘hypervisibility’

14 November Afsoun Afsahi, The University of British Columbia Intersectionality and Democracy

21 November Moya Lloyd, University of Essex Embodying radical democracy: corporeal disidentification and sensate agency

5 December Alfred Moore, University of York Between Imagination and Constraint: Identity and persona as play elements in democracy

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, AND WEBINARS 39

17 10 9

14 18 26

16 13

20 14

The Centre, embedded within a global network of scholars, actively promotes democratic theory and practice both in Australia and internationally. This year, we deepened our connections through conference and workshop presentations worldwide. 40

Oceania

01 CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA

5 7 6

Mohammad Abdul-Hwas Presenter International Refugee Day Seminar University of Canberra 4

2 1 3

Jonathan Pickering Organiser Visit of Secretary General of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs University of Canberra

Jonathan Pickering

Adele Webb

Co-convenor

Presenter

Public panel event on ‘Europe-

The Interpretation, Method and

eAustralia relations in a changing

Critique Seminar Series

global context: trade, security and

Australian National University

Nicole Curato Panel Chair

values’ Nicole Curato

Australian Political Studies

Discussant

Association Annual Conference

John Dryzek

Mobilising for Elections book

University of Sydney

Presenter

launch

School of Politics and

Australian National University

University of Canberra

Jonathan Pickering Co-convenor

International Relations Seminar Adele Webb

Workshop on ‘Achieving a coherent

Invited Participant

energy transition: renewables and

John Dryzek

Australian Public Service

community well-being’

Presenter

- Academia Collaboration

University of Canberra

Retirement Conference for Robert

Workshop

Goodin

Old Parliament House

Australian National University

02 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

Hans Asenbaum Selen A. Ercan John Dryzek Jordan McSwiney Simon Niemeyer Adele Webb Mohammad Abdul-Hwas Wendy Conway-Lamb Madeleine Egan Anne Nygaard Jedzini Presenter Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference University of Sydney

→ Our Centre was out in full force at the annual conference of the Australian Political Studies Association (APSA) at the University of Sydney, 27-30 Nov. Centre staff and students participated the conference and presented our research across various panels, and enjoyed learning about the research of colleagues from other universities.

03 MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

04 QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Ferdinand Sanchez

Nicole Curato

Presenter

Public lecture

XX International Sociological

Perspectives: Asia in collaboration

Association World Congress of

Queensland Art Gallery

Sociology   Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

← Ferdinand Sanchez presents his work at the XX International Sociological Association in Melbourne, Australia.

←↓ Griffith Asia Institute and ACAPA: Perspectives Asia: Can deliberation bridge divided publics? A hopeful story from the Philippines, Prof Nicole Curato, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 28 September 2023. Photographs: C Callistemon, QAGOMA

Asia

05 BAGUIO, PHILIPPINES

06 LOS BAÑOS, PHILIPPINES

Nicole Curato

Olivia Mendoza

Speaker

Presenter

Youth for Deliberative Democracy

University of the Philippines Los

University of Baguio

Baños

07 METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES Nicole Curato Speaker YouthLed Deliberative Democracy Workshop Asia Foundation Ferdinand Sanchez Presenter Philippine Sociological Society Annual Conference De La Salle University Ferdinand Sanchez Presenter Usapang Socio (Sociology Talk): On Masculinity University of the Philippines Diliman Ferdinand Sanchez Panel Speaker Kilatis: Exploring the Role of Sociology in Shaping Good Governance   Polytechnic University of the Philippines Ferdinand Sanchez Speaker Manila Youth Parliament De La Salle University

Africa

08 PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA Nicole Curato Keynote speaker Inaugural Annual Symposium: Centre for Asian Studies in Africa University of Pretoria

Europe

09 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK Nicole Curato Lucy J Parry Presenters Democracy R&D annual conference Nicole Curato Keynote speaker Democratic Innovations Summit University of Copenhagen

10 KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY Hans Asenbaum Presenter Centre for Digital Transformation Seminar Series University of Agde

↑ 11 OSLO, NORWAY

13 STUTTGART, GERMANY

Big smiles from Toulouse, France. Congratulations to the Centre’s participants at the 2023 European

Nicole Curato

Hans Asenbaum

Consortium for Political Research

Presenter

Joint Sessions (ECPRJS). Dr Hans

Strongmen of Asia workshop

Institute for Social Sciences Seminar

Asenbaum co-convened the section

University of Oslo

Series

on democratic assemblage together

University of Stuttgart

with Associate Prof Sonia Bussu and the Centre’s associates Associate Prof Ricardo Mendonça and Mathias Poulsen.

12 FRANKFURT, GERMANY

14 TOULOUSE, FRANCE

Hans Asenbaum

Presenter

Workshop Co-convenor and

Research Unit on Democratic

Presenter

Innovations Seminar Series

ECPR Joint Sessions

Goethe University Frankfurt

Sciences Po Toulouse

15 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

17 CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM

19 LEICESTER, UNITED KINGDOM

Keynote Speaker

Nicole Curato

Citizen Participation. And then

Keynote Speaker

Speaker

what? What alternatives to resolve

Challenges in Studying Right-Wing

Global Ethics and Political Theory

the crisis of democracy

Populism: A global perspective

Seminar Series

University of Cambridge

University of Leicester

16 LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

18 LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM

20 MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM

Hans Asenbaum

Lucy J. Parry

Nicole Curato

Presenter

Chair

Participant

Centre for the Study of

Deliberative Hype Roundtable

Decolonising Democratic

Democracy Seminar Series

Political Studies Association Annual

Innovations teach-out

University of Westminster

Conference

Manchester Metropolitan University

Hans Asenbaum

Nicole Curato

Speaker

Presenter

Citizen participation and

Political Studies Association Annual

accountability in disasters

Conference

University of Manchester

Nicole Curato

← Dr Lucy Parry, Dr Hans Asenbaum, Professor Nicole Curato, and Dr Nardine Alnemr post for a photo after the Political Studies Association Annual Conference in Liverpool, UK.

South America

21 BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL

23 BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

Hans Asenbaum

Presenter

Margem Seminar Series

Faculty of Law Seminar Series

Federal University of Minas Gerais

Javeriana University

22 BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

24 MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA

Hans Asenbaum

Presenter and Panel Chair

Presenter

International Political Studies

Faculty of Law Seminar Series

Association World Congress

EAFIT University

Catholic University of Argentina

North America

25 LOS ANGELES, USA

26 VANCOUVER, CANADA

Hans Asenbaum

Selen A. Ercan

Presenter

American Political Studies

Hans Asenbaum

Association Annual Meeting

Panel Chair

Presenter

Los Angeles Convention Center

Conference ‘What is the Future

Participedia Radical Democracy

of Representative Democracy?’

Summer School

Simon Fraser University

Online Hans Asenbaum Presenter ECPR House Series John Dryzek Keynote Lecture 2023 Conference CFP: Argumentation in the Power and Politics of Democracy Argumentation Network of the Americas Adele Webb Panel Speaker Mapping Global Populism European Centre for Populism Studies Nicole Curato Speaker Masterclass on Deliberative Integrity Demo.Reset   Nicole Curato Speaker Research to Practice Talk People Powered

VISITORS

Axel Bruns Queensland University of Technology In this finale for the seminar series on ‘Future-Proofing the Public Sphere,’ Prof Axel Bruns engaged in a thoughtprovoking conversation with Prof John S. Dryzek. Moderated by Prof Selen A. Ercan, the session revolved around the potential intersections between digital media and deliberative democracy. We co-hosted this seminar with the News & Media Research Centre of the University of Canberra, on 16 May 2023.

Visitors Andre Bächtiger, University of Stuttgart Emily Beausoleil, Victoria University of Wellington Matteo Bonotti, Monash University Katharina Esau, Queensland University of Technology Ian O’Flynn, Newcastle University Jane Suiter, Dublin City University    Alison Young, University of Cambridge Kei Nishiyama, Kaichi International University   Erin O’Brien, Queensland University of Technology Hoi Kong, The University of British Columbia Dannica Fleuss, Dublin City University Jonathon Hutchinson, University of Sydney Lucas Veloso, Federal University of Minas Gerais Sonia Bussu, Institute of Local Government Studies Axel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology

Visiting Scholar Associate Prof Sonia Bussu University of Birmingham, Institute of Local Government Studies

“

I was thrilled to finally get to Canberra, as a visiting scholar at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance. The Centre has long established itself as a global hub for deliberative democracy and one of the strongest homes of research on democratic innovation, recognised as an authoritative centre of excellence on public engagement by scholars, practitioners and policymakers around the world. The breadth of knowledge and expertise within this one centre is truly impressive! But the thing I loved the most about my time there was the feeling of being part of a genuinely inclusive and supportive community, always open to new ideas and perspectives in a real effort to continuously widen the reach of democratic projects. It was great to reconnect with great friends and scholars, but also to meet a new generation of PhD students and postdocs that are doing incredibly important work to expand our understanding of participatory deliberative democracy and decentre the field from Western-centric frames. Way to go!” 55

Lucas Veloso Federal University of Minas Gerais

“ 56

My Ph.D. visit to the Centre of Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance (CDDGG) was replete with valuable insights and experiences. The opportunity to engage in weekly international seminars hosted by the Centre exposed me to cutting-edge global research. Working on my thesis in an environment where I consistently interacted with high-level professionals and supportive peers significantly enhanced the quality of my work. Most importantly, forging professional connections and friendships with the persons who make the Centre thrive is unquestionably the crowning achievement of my visit!”

ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

MARGEM at the Federal University of Minas Gerais The MARGEM research group is dedicated to interdisciplinary studies focused on deepening the understanding of democracy and its inherent social struggles. This year, a notable event was Dr Hans Asenbaum’s book launch at MARGEM, where he is actively involved. In addition, Lucas Veloso, a Brazilian PhD student, spent six months at our Centre, working on a thesis under the cosupervision of Prof Nicole Curato.

Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology

We continued a productive collaboration with QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre, including co-hosting, along with the News & Media Research Centre, a three-part series on the topic of “Future-proofing the Public Sphere.” In another collaboration between the two Centres, our Centre’s Dr Adele Webb and QUT’s Dr Katharina Esau were awarded funding from the Australian Political Studies Association to run a research workshop on the same topic in early 2024.

Uppsala University

Prof Simon Niemeyer is collaborating with scholars from Uppsala University and University on Melbourne, in investigating the impact of reputation and trust in expertise on public deliberation as part of the Swedish Riksbanken project.

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)

Dr Adele Webb was invited to be on the international advisory committee for International IDEA’s Democracy Assessment team, to assist with the conceptualisation and design of a multicountry pilot study on popular perceptions of democracy. The survey seeks to solicit popular views on governance and institutions, as well as understand people’s democratic aspirations.

← Celebrating fruitful collaborations with Brazil, where Dr Hans Asenbaum did a research visit at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) to present his work on the politics of becoming. Meanwhile, the Centre hosted UFMG student Lucas Veloso for six months as a Visiting PhD Scholar.

Participedia

The Centre continues a strong partnership with Participedia (funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada), particularly in its role of leading the Participatory Governance (PG) cluster, co-chaired by Prof Selen A. Ercan. One of the key signature projects stemming from the partnership this year, along with other co-leader DemoLabs at the University of Stuttgart, was an occasional Seminar Series that showcased some of the work members of the PG were doing around participation and democratic innovations around the world. These seminars have been met with great responses and together with Participedia, we are looking at ways in which we can build on and extend their reach in the Participedia and broader democratic innovations communities.

Global Citizens’ Assembly on Genome Editing Consortium

In March, the Global Citizens’ Assembly project was featured at the third Global Summit on Human Genome Editing, at the Royal Society in London, where Prof Simon Niemeyer presented the project to the audience comprising leading genomic scientists.

International Ethics Research Group

Prof John S. Dryzek and Dr Jonathan Pickering are active members of Canberra’s multi-university International Ethics Research Group, led by Professor Toni Erskine of Australian National University. The Group meets regularly to discuss work in progress by its members and others.

INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS 62

Watertrust Australia continues to develop its deliberative approach to water governance with the input by Professors John Dryzek and Simon Niemeyer. This year, the project team along with Dr Lucy Parry undertook a Q methodological study to identify and map conceptions of equity, justice, and fairness among actors involved in water governance.

Our Centre is proud to be part of Democracy R&D – a global consortium of advocates, scholars, and practitioners of deliberative democracy. Democracy R&D convenes regional learning calls and an annual conference. Prof Nicole Curato and Dr Lucy J. Parry represented the Centre at this year’s conference, presenting insights from their respective research on the Global Assembly and Deliberative Integrity.

TEACHING

MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY UNIT: CO-DESIGN AND DELIBERATIVE ENGAGEMENT

The Centre launched its flagship postgraduate unit on Public Policy – CoDesign and Deliberative Engagement. Designed by Prof Nicole Curato and Dr Nivek Thompson, the unit takes a deep dive into participatory policymaking and multi-stakeholder engagement. Public authorities have increasingly turned to co-design and deliberative engagement to address contentious issues in policymaking and implementation. This unit provokes critical thinking about the relevance and limitations of co-design and deliberative engagement for the policy community and asks what we can learn from global best practices as well as ‘failed cases’. This year, Prof Nicole and Dr Adele taught the unit, with guest appearances from other Centre staff.

Student testimonies

“

I loved this unit, particularly how practical it was. With the things you’ve taught us and the links to great ‘how to’ resources, I feel like I could actually have a crack at some of this”.

“

[T]he more I learn, the more I would love to facilitate work in this space. These are essential skills for the future of humanity.”

↑→ PhD Candidates Friedel Marquardt and Anne Nyagard Jedzini conduct tutorials for UC undergraduate students. September 2023.

Tutors in the School of Politics, Economics and Society

↑ Prof Selen A. Ercan teaches about Democratic Agency at the Radical

Our students contribute to teaching in the Faculty’s School of Politics, Economics and Society by tutoring various units, including: • Investigating and Explaining Society, with Mohammad Abdul-Hwas • Introduction to Public Policy, with Mohammad AbdulHwas • Politics and Democracy, with Mohammad Abdul-Hwas • Political and Social Theory, with Mohammad AbdulHwas • Introduction to International Relations, with Mohammad Abdul-Hwas (Academic Marking) • Citizens, States, and Societies, with Olivia Mendoza (Academic Marking)   • Political Leadership, with Anne Nygaard Jedzini Anne Nygaard Jedzini also taught (online) the undergraduate unit, ‘Power and Policy Making’ at Griffith University.

Democracy Summer School. Vancouver, Canada. 6 June 2023. 67

MULTIMEDIA ENGAGEMENTS 68

We connect our scholarly work to broader audiences through multimedia engagement.

↑ Just before the start of campaigns for the Voice to Parliament referendum bill, Prof John S. Dryzek and Prof Selen A. Ercan, together with Associate Prof Ron Levy from the Australian National University, argue for a more deliberative approach in generating trusted information about the indigenous Voice to Parliament, in their 19 June piece for The Conversation.

OP-EDS, BLOGS, AND LONG-FORM PIECES

Curato, Nicole. The Golden Age of Disinformation. LSE Southeast Asia Blog. 18 May.

Felix, Juan, Active Vista Center Inc., Sanchez, Ferdinand II, and Curato, Nicole. Creatives as frontliners in the Philippines’ fight against disinformation. East Asia Forum. 16 June.

Felix, Juan and Sanchez, Ferdinand II. ‘Patient Zero’ Fights Back: A Look at the Philippines’ Counter-disinformation Initiatives. Dakila. 20 July.

Jedzini, Anne Nygaard. Politicians must share deliberative power to increase legitimacy. The Loop. 16 March.

Levy, Ron, Dryzek, John S. and Ercan, Selen A. In A Voice Campaign Marked by Confusing, Competing Claims, There’s A Better Way to Educate Voters. The Conversation. 19 June.

Curato, Nicole. Co-Host. New Books Network in Southeast Asia Podcast.

Ercan, Selen, A. Guest. Exploring radical and resilient democracy. Just Participation Podcast. 13 July.

Ercan, Selen A. Guest. Why is the vote of ethnic communities important in the referendum? SBS Radio. 14 October.

Webb, Adele. Guest. Gauging the health of democracy in the Philippines under Bongbong Marcos. Ear to Asia Podcast. 8 June.

Webb, Adele. Guest. The Pick. ABC Radio National. 10 June.

RADIO AND PODCASTS

↑ CDDGG research on Australia’s far right mentioned by Pauline Hanson on Sky News. 29 November 2023.

Australian far-right politician Pauline Hanson appeared on the The Kenny Report on Sky News to complain that a recent article coauthored by Jordan McSwiney and Kurt Sengul (The University of Sydney) was “having a go” at her for her internet cartoon Please Explain. The article, which Hanson mistakenly refers to as a “UNSW report”, was published open access in Television and New Media and analyses how humour is strategically used to normalise far-right messages in the Please Explain animated series, which is produced for the Pauline Hanson’s One Nation political party. 71

ACADEMIC CITIZENSHIP

ACADEMIC JOURNALS

Centre Staff serve in various capacities in professional bodies and for a number of academic journals including The Journal of Deliberative Democracy, Australian Journal of Political Science, and Democratic Theory. → Hans Asenbaum and Lucy J Parry as new editors of the Journal of Deliberative Democracy.

JOURNAL

EDITORS

Journal of Deliberative Democracy

Hans Asenbaum and Lucy J Parry Olivia Mendoza, Editorial Assistant

Australian Journal of Political Science

Jordan McSwiney and Nicole Curato

Democratic Theory

Jean-Paul Gagnon, Hans Asenbaum, Selen A. Ercan

Professional Associations PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

MEMBERS

Political Organisation and Participation Standing group, Australian Political Studies Association

Jordan McSwiney, Co-Convener

Australian Political Studies Association Executive Committee, Australian Political Studies Association

Anne Jedzini, Postgraduate Caucus Representative

Local Organising Committee, Australian Political Studies Association 2023

Anne Jedzini, HDR Member

Australian Political Studies Association Postgraduate Caucus

Anne Jedzini, Organiser of HDR Workshop

Earth System Governance Project

Jonathan Pickering, Member of the Scientific Steering Committee

ECPR Standing Group, Theoretical Perspectives in Policy Analysis

Selen A. Ercan, Co-Convener

Acta Politica

Nicole Curato, Editorial Board Member

WHO Practical Guide for Citizen Engagement in Evidence-Informed Policy-making

Nicole Curato, Editorial Board Member

Horizon 2020 INSPIRE

Nicole Curato, Stakeholder Panel Member

DemocracyNext, Horizon 2020 CLIMAS project, Horizon 2020 REGROUP project

Nicole Curato, Advisory Board Member

Women Doing Philosophy

Olivia Mendoza, Core Member and North Luzon Representative

International Society for Research on Emotions

Olivia Mendoza, Secretary, Early Career Researchers Section

WELCOME

We’re delighted to welcome two new colleagues to our Centre this year. Dr Adele Webb joined our Centre as Research Fellow in Democracy and Citizen Engagement. Adele is leading our Connecting to Parliament project and convening our Master of Public Policy unit on Co-design and Deliberative Engagement. Olivia Mendoza joined our Centre as a PhD Candidate working on topics at the intersection of feminist philosophy and democratic theory, with focus on the role of emotions in facilitating the aims of deliberative democracy. Olivia’s PhD project is supervised by Dr Hans Asenbaum, Dr Adele Webb and Prof John Dryzek.

We said farewell to Krista Schmeling, Matthew Harris and Vaishnavi Pappu, who worked with us at different times in different capacities this year. We are grateful for their work and contributions to the Centre. Next year, we will be welcoming Dr Nardine Alnemr, who will be joining our Centre as an Australian Research Council funded Postdoctoral Fellow on global citizen deliberation and analysing a deliberative documentary.

CONGRATULATIONS 78

PhD student Olivia Mendoza is the recipient of the prestigious Deliberative Democracy PhD Scholarship offered to students aiming to specialise in one of the core research areas of the Centre.

PhD Student Sahana Sehgal was awarded the Volunteer Manager of the Year Excellence in Inclusion by VolunteeringACT.

A SOCIAL SPACE

↑ Our Centre’s PhD students post for a group photo at the APSA Conference. University of Sydney, 29 November 2023.

THE YEAR AHEAD

88 88

Our year ahead is shaping up to be an incredible one. ↓ Centre staff and students enjoy after work drinks at Tilley’s Café, Canberra. 21 September 2023.

We will continue our collaborations with our academic, industry and community partners and welcome several international visiting scholars.   We are excited to celebrate our 10th anniversary at the Centre in 2024. This celebration will coincide with our 6th Deliberative Democracy Summer School at the Centre on 7-9 February 2024.

→ Centre bids farewell for visiting PhD student Lucas Veloso. 27 October 2023.

↑ Centre staff and members are all smiles at the End-of-Year lunch in Parlour in Acton, Canberra. 5 December 2023.

We would love to hear from you. Drop us an email (delibdem@canberra.edu.au) or mail us a postcard (Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, Ann Harding Conference Centre (Building 24), University Drive South, University of Canberra, ACT 2617, Australia). You can also follow our activities on Twitter and on newly created our LinkedIn page. We wish you a prosperous and kind new year ahead.

MEMBERS

Mohammad Abdul-Hwas PhD Candidate

Hans Asenbaum Senior Research Fellow

Wendy Conway-Lamb PhD Candidate

Nicole Curato Professor

John S. Dryzek Distinguished Professor

Madeleine B. Egan PhD Candidate

Selen A. Ercan Professor and Centre Director

Anne Nygaard Jedzini PhD Candidate

Friedel Marquardt Research Assistant

Jordan McSwiney Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Olivia Mendoza PhD Candidate

Simon Niemeyer Professor

Lucy J. Parry Senior Research Associate

Ferdinand Sanchez Research Assistant

Sahana Sehgal PhD Candidate

Adele Webb Research Fellow 93