Deliberative democracy takes what is often referred to as the principles of deliberation and applies them to processes of collective decision-making. These processes are commonly referred to as minipublics, citizens’ assemblies, and more.

Deliberative democracy is an increasingly popular approach to resolving complex problems in communities around the world. This is because it specialises in finding common ground amongst a representative mix of people on trade-offs that address a given public issue. By giving people lots of information, time to consume it, incentives to do that, and meaningful influence over any final decision, deliberative processes like citizens’ assemblies equip everyday people with the capability to find agreement on challenging problems. There are countless examples of these processes resolving hard problems – that’s what they do.

However, some issues or contexts are inherently more difficult to deliberate on than others. These circumstances often involve deeply held beliefs, values, and emotions, and can be polarising or controversial. They might occur in complex contexts with historical polarisation that transcends generations. So, while deliberative democracy might specialise in addressing difficult issues, some issues pose a challenge to the way we do deliberative democracy that makes them truly difficult.