Edited by
Dimitri Courant, Harvard University, USA.
Bernard Reber, CNRS and Sciences Po Paris, Cevipof, France.
ISBN : 9781836690061
Publication Date : June 2025
Hardcover 492 pp
165.00 USD
Co-publisher
Democracies are struggling to respond to the climate crisis. One promising approach to the ecological transition is based on innovations involving panels of citizens drawn at random. Many countries have experimented with this form of deliberative democracy at national and local levels. These citizens’ assemblies formulate public policy proposals. The French Citizens’ Convention for Climate is the largest in terms of size, duration and mandate.
Thanks to a multi-disciplinary field survey involving around twenty researchers, this book provides an understanding of the complexity of this experience from several angles: procedures and processes; the identity and roles of its members; relationships with expertise and representatives; evaluation and comparison with other cases.
Deliberative Democracy and Ecological Transition plays an important role in reflecting on an original practice of democratic innovation and its potential for fair governance of climate policies.
Book Endorsements
“The French Citizens’ Convention for Climate was a true landmark in the history of citizen deliberation. Featuring contributors with intimate knowledge of the Convention and the capacity to bring to bear broader insights, this book is the perfect guide to how the Convention happened and worked, what went right, what went wrong, how it affected climate policy outcomes, and how it compares with other important deliberative processes.”
John S. Dryzek, Distinguished Professor, University of Canberra
“A magisterial overview of a unique national experiment –the French Citizens Convention on Climate Change. This is indispensable reading for anyone trying to understand the context and the complexities of this important initiative.”
James Fishkin, Janet M. Peck Professor of International Communication, Stanford University
“The edited volume by Dimitri Courant and Bernard Reber on the French Citizens’ Convention for Climate is not only one of the most comprehensive case studies I ever read, but it derives convincingly general conclusions. Applying a variety of methods, scholars cover the complete process, look at a variety of involved actors, and address crucial topics such as justice, accountability, and legitimacy. The book is highly recommended for everybody working on mini-publics.”
Brigitte Geißel, Professor for Comparative Politics, Goethe-University Frankfurt a.M.
“At a time when democracies are under siege around the globe, it is crucial to understand new ways to involve citizens more directly in constructive solutions to societal problems. Courant and Reber and their colleagues’ multidisciplinary and nuanced analysis of the 2019/20 French Citizens’ Convention for Climate provides important and actionable insights about the role of deliberative democracy in the ecological transition.”
Elke U. Weber, Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment, Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs, Princeton University
“This book provides a reflective account of La Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat, drawing on rigorous research and critical analysis to unpack its complexities. Moving beyond celebratory narratives and simplistic critiques, it offers a nuanced examination of one of the most ambitious and contested experiments in deliberative democracy. Essential reading for supporters, sceptics, and the undecided alike, this work sheds light on the role of citizens' assemblies in shaping climate action.”
Nicole Curato, Professor of Democratic Governance, University of Birmingham
“Citizens’ assemblies on climate change are an exciting democratic innovation that promise to move political debate and policy on climate forward and in the right direction. Courant and Reber’s edited volume is a painstakingly researched detailed account of the French Citizens’ Climate Convention, arguably the most significant such democratic experiment to date. Bringing together democratic innovation theory with climate policy science, this book is a must-read for all of us interested in how democracies can and should deal with climate insecurity.”
Simone Chambers, Professor of Political Science, University of California Irvine
“Taking on an absolutely urgent problem, France’s ambitious Citizens Convention for Climate was a study in political complexity, embedded in political ecology comprised of the president, parliament, experts, advocacy groups, industry, and the broader public. As a result of an extensive study by a multidisciplinary collective of 20, the book addresses the challenges of citizens’ assemblies as no other study has done. Essential reading for anyone interested in innovative democratic approaches to wicked problems.”
Mark E. Warren, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Emeritus Merilees Chair for the Study of Democracy, University of British Columbia
“The French Citizens’ Convention for the Climate achieved a level of political and public recognition that is rare for a citizens’ assembly. However, its significance and impact remain widely contested. Dimitri Courant and Bernard Reber’s wide-ranging collection offers us a clearer understanding of the context, organization, and impact of the Convention. The scope and sensitivity of the analyses are particularly impressive because many of the authors were present at the Convention itself, so they draw on first-hand experience and knowledge. Deliberative Democracy and the Ecological Transition sets the terms for a more sophisticated and nuanced debate”.
Graham Smith, Professor of Politics, Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster - Chair of Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies
Part 1. A Complex Deliberative Process.
1. Genesis and Evolution of the Citizens’ Convention for Climate, Dimitri Courant.
2. Governing Committee and Political Role, Jean-Michel Fourniau.
3. Comparing Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly and France’s Citizens’ Convention, Dimitri Courant.
4. The Pandemic and Conflicts of Legitimacy: Session 6bis, Bernard Reber and Nathalie Blanc.
Part 2. Convention Members and Public Opinion.
5. France in Miniature: The Descriptive Legitimacy of the Random Selection Process, Jean-Michel Fourniau, Bénédicte Apouey and Solène Tournus.
6. Profiles and Opinions of the Convention Members Compared to Those of the Population, Adrien Fabre, Bénédicte Apouey, Thomas Douenne, Jean-Michel Fourniau, Louis-Gaëtan Giraudet, Jean-François Laslier and Solène Tournus.
7. The Convention Members’ Opinions on Climate Measures, Bénédicte Apouey, Thomas Douenne and Jean-François Laslier.
Part 3. Deliberations, Proposals and Expertise.
8. Deliberative Impartiality and Legitimacy of the Influences, Dimitri Courant and Simon Baeckelandt.
9. Roles of the Experts and of the Citizens in Devising the Measures Put Forward: The Thematic Group “Housing”, Louis-Gaëtan Giraudet and Hélène Guillemot.
10. The Relationships to Expertise in Light of “Technical” Democracy, Selma Tilikete.
11. Getting Around the Issue of the “Carbon Tax”, Romane Rozencwajg, Bénédicte Apouey, Maxime Gaborit, Laurent Jeanpierre and Jean-François Laslier.
Part 4. Social Movements, Justice and Exceptions.
12. Conceptions of Social, Environmental and Climate Justice, Nathalie Blanc and Laurence Granchamp.
13. Contestation and Deliberation: Activists and the Randomly Selected Citizens, Maxime Gaborit.
14. Representativity and Exceptionality: Citizens from Overseas and Co-decision, Christiane Rafidinarivo.
Part 5. Comparisons, Filters and Accountability.
15. The Bürgerrat Klima: Germany’s Informal Model for Integrating Citizen Deliberation into Politics, Rikki Dean and Gabriel Pelloquin.
16. Ambiguities of the Phrase “With No Filter” and the Necessary Filters, Bernard Reber.
Dimitri Courant is a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University, USA. He holds a double doctorate in political science from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and the University of Paris 8, France. He was a postdoctoral Fung Global Fellow at Princeton University, USA.
Bernard Reber is a philosopher, specializing in ethics and politics, Director of Research at the CNRS and a member of the Political Research Center at Sciences Po Paris, Cevipof, France. For over two decades, he has analyzed and helped to set up a number of deliberative experiments.
