Public Roundtable “Open Constitutional Democracy: Reconciling Deliberation and Constitutional Democracy”

Why introduce deliberative mini-publics, and what democratic deficits can they address? How should they be designed and institutionalized? Can they address complex policy and constitutional questions? Should they exercise public authority, and what should their relationship be with citizens, elected bodies, courts, and fundamental rights?

Join us for an interdisciplinary conversation about the constitutional role and design of empowered mini-publics with leading experts in the area of democratic innovations.

Wednesday, 26 August 2026, 16:30 - 18:45

Online or at the University of Lausanne

(Anthropole building, lecture hall 2106)

Registration mandatory. Free entrance. 

Speakers:

• André Bächtiger, University of Stuttgart
• Simone Chambers, University of California Irvine
• Alice el-Wakil, University of Copenhagen
• David Farrell, University College Dublin
• Roberto Gargarella, University of Buenos Aires
• Alexander Guerrero, Rutgers University
• Silvia Suteu, European University Institute
• Chiara Valentini, University of Bologna
• Pierre-Etienne Vandamme, Université catholique de Louvain
• Yanina Welp, University of Girona

Moderation by Michael Pal (University of Ottawa) and David Vitale (University of Warwick).

The roundtable is organized by Odile Ammann (University of Lausanne) and Chiara Valsangiacomo-Balmelli (University of Lausanne) with funding by the Swiss National Science Foundation. 

The event is part of a broader Trans-Atlantic Platform project, “Open Constitutional Democracy: Reconciling Deliberation and Constitutional Democracy,” led by the principal investigators David Vitale (University of Warwick), Michael Pal (University of Ottawa), and Odile Ammann (University of Lausanne).

For more information, please contact us at chiara.valsangiacomo-balmelli@unil.ch