It was recorded. Videos of inaugurals usually come out a month later here: www.sps.ed.ac.uk/inaugural-le...

Photo of Professor Cristian Vaccari against the backdrop of his title presentation slide which reads: After social media: participation, power and responsibility in digital politics

This evening we’re enjoying the inaugural lecture by Professor Cristian Vaccari at the University of Edinburgh. The topic, and his work, couldn’t be timelier: ‘After social media: Parcipation, power and responsibility in digital politics’ Congratulazioni Cristian!🙌🏼 @profvaccari.bsky.social

Government of Jersey The Assisted Dying Citizens' Jury will take place via online sessions in Spring 2021. The Jury will be selected at random and will demographically represent the Island's population

A lot of coverage today in the UK about the passing of the Jersey legislation on assisted dying. But in the coverage I’ve seen there’s no mention of the Citizens’ Jury on Assisted Dying which played a role in the broader public engagement process 👉🏼 www.gov.je/Caring/Assis...

Brilliant!

Why do democratic innovations remain so invisible in mainstream media? (rhetorical question) Hard to expand our public imagination about alternative ways of governing unless we overcome this politics of in/visibility

Government of Jersey The Assisted Dying Citizens' Jury will take place via online sessions in Spring 2021. The Jury will be selected at random and will demographically represent the Island's population

A lot of coverage today in the UK about the passing of the Jersey legislation on assisted dying. But in the coverage I’ve seen there’s no mention of the Citizens’ Jury on Assisted Dying which played a role in the broader public engagement process 👉🏼 www.gov.je/Caring/Assis...

Our latest capability building training courses are open to book! They aim to help researchers advance knowledge & skills around approaches to planning, designing, and evaluating public engagement in behavioural research. tinyurl.com/jm3vub5e @oliverescobar.bsky.social @julzealejandre.bsky.social

What next for community wealth building in Scotland? New legislation must be accompanied by practice, and networks and movements.

The Bill is an important step - but legislation alone won’t deliver Community Wealth Building.

Progress now depends on:
👉 Implementation
👉 Practice on the ground
👉 Building the networks & capacity needed to turn plans into real change.

Read the blog: www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/359-wh... 4/4

The result of the Stage 3 vote on the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill is:

✅ Yes - 103
❌ No - 0
🟣 Abstain - 0

The bill is therefore passed.

You can find out more online at https://ow.ly/EyRV50Yco0K

Scotland Moves Beyond Growth to Create Landmark Community Wealth Building Bill The Community Wealth Bill has passed. Our Director (interim) Lisa Hough- Stewart outlines why this is just the beginning, and what must happen to embed community power, accountability and wellbeing at...

“There’s a real reason to celebrate this week. The Scottish Parliament has passed the Community Wealth Building Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that marks a genuine shift in how we think about economic decision-making in #Scotland.”

www.weallscotland.org/post/scotlan...

Kate Forbes: Why Scotland’s community wealth building bill is such an enormous deal

Scotland will become the first country in the world to legislate for implementation of the Community Wealth Building economic development model at national, regional and local level, writes Kate Forbes ✍️

The Deputy First Minister explains why that is so important 👇

Elections bill will bring in once-in-a-generation change to voting – but misses big opportunity Today sees the first reading of the Representation of the People Bill, the government’s landmark legislation reforming how elections work. This promises to make some fundamental reform

The Representation of the People Bill is live at Westminster. Good stuff on money in politics and votes at 16 (should be lower). But it doesn't grasp the nettle. Not just a missed opportunity, but inexcusably timid. Quick brief by @electoralreform.bsky.social👇🏼
electoral-reform.org.uk/elections-bi...

Over 50 Academics Warn That Voting System Is Not Fit For Multi-Party Politics Dozens of academics have written to the government to warn that the current voting system risks producing distorted results on an 'unprecedented' s...

I never really sign stuff. But this was different. It's not about trying to facilitate or block a particular party's route to power. It's about an electoral system that's unsuited to the political realities we face today and risks giving us government after government with no convincing mandate.

In this Newsletter: Call for Papers: Democratic Innovations, Democratic Futures Special Issue: Democratic Innovation beyond the Deliberative Paradigm? Training Course on Citizen Engagement in Policymaking Blog: First Weekend of Dunfermline New City Assembly Latest Issue of the Concept Journal Job Vacancy: Researcher on Participation and Democratic Innovations at the Joint Research Centre New Article - Democratic Innovations in the UK: Reflections on Historical Trajectories Inaugural Lecture: Prof. Vaccari - After Social Media: Participation, Power, and Responsibility in Digital Politics

🗞️ 🗓️ February newsletter | Citizen Participation Network | Including publications, events, vacancies and training courses across the fields of public participation and democratic innovation.

Available 👉🏼 www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-j...

In this Newsletter: Call for Papers: Democratic Innovations, Democratic Futures Special Issue: Democratic Innovation beyond the Deliberative Paradigm? Training Course on Citizen Engagement in Policymaking Blog: First Weekend of Dunfermline New City Assembly Latest Issue of the Concept Journal Job Vacancy: Researcher on Participation and Democratic Innovations at the Joint Research Centre New Article - Democratic Innovations in the UK: Reflections on Historical Trajectories Inaugural Lecture: Prof. Vaccari - After Social Media: Participation, Power, and Responsibility in Digital Politics

🗞️ 🗓️ February newsletter | Citizen Participation Network | Including publications, events, vacancies and training courses across the fields of public participation and democratic innovation.

Available 👉🏼 www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-j...

Multiexposure image of a faceless Hacker on abstract concrete blue interface background with digital app icons. Text reads: The Dark Side of the AI detecting and combating the criminal use of AI Modern information technology has created a vast scope for new harms, from hacking business and government, undermining critical infrastructures, to exploiting vulnerable people, especially children, on a global scale. The arrival of pretrained AI tools such as LLMs and image generators suggests that this is going to get increasingly worse. In this session our speakers who work on detection of and understanding of cybercrime and child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Dark Side of the AI
Detecting and combating the criminal use of AI
Friday, Feb 6 - 3:10 pm to 5:30 pm

Modern information technology has created a vast scope for new harm on a global scale.

Join Ben Collier and James Stevenson to discuss
Book your space:
edin.ac/3Zh2Aps

Scotland at the Crossroads: Net Zero and the Next Parliament - Buy tickets In partnership with the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow

On the evening of Monday 16th, I'll be appearing on a panel with @uofgpolicy.bsky.social colleagues to discuss the net zero, climate policy, and the upcoming elections at a Scottish Parliament Festival of Politics event.

Free of entry and open to the public, but booking is essential:

CAHSS Network for the Study of Work With funding from the CAHSS Interdisciplinary Fund, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Network for the Study of Work (NSW).

With many thanks to @uoe-cahss.bsky.social for funding, I'm delighted that the Network for the Study of Work (NSW) is launching in February:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cahss-netw...

With help from @haylesben.bsky.social, @ibalilebali.bsky.social and @tomoshea.org

Abstract This article compares the historical trajectories of democratic innovations across space and time in the UK by analysing the development and impact of collaborative governance, participatory budgeting, referendums, and mini-publics. This is an interesting country for longer-term analysis. First, the UK has been considered an inhospitable environment for democratic innovation. Second, it has experienced asymmetrical decentralisation of legislative and executive powers from national to subnational institutions. Third, these changes have taken place during a period of democratic backsliding. We analyse how these dynamics are interrelated by charting the trajectory of four types of democratic innovations in four different countries of the UK (space) from the 1970s to the present (time). We find that, after years of limited democratic innovation there has been rapid, although geographically asymmetrical, development in recent decades. We argue that the importance of these differences should not be overstated in relation to democratic deepening. We conclude that, to advance democratic innovations in the UK, a constitutional convention is required.

🆕 article: 'Democratic innovations in the UK: Reflections on historical trajectories across space and time' ⏳ 🤔 by Stephen Elstub and myself.
✅ Open Access www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
✅ Synopsis of trajectories of democratic innovations in the last 50 years across the UK ... in 7,000 words 😮‍💨

The image is a cover for "European Political Science" with the abbreviation "EPS." It features a hashtag "#OpenAccess" and the acronym "ecpr" in the top right corner, all on a dark olive background.

#OpenAccess from @epsjournal.bsky.social -

Democratic innovations in the UK: Reflections on historical trajectories across space and time - https://cup.org/4rpXLWQ

- Stephen Elstub & @oliverescobar.bsky.social

#FirstView

First weekend of Dunfermline New City Assembly lays a fantastic foundation Dunfermline, Scotland’s ancient capital, feels like the ideal place to explore new ways for communities to influence decisions.This weekend saw the first meeting of the Dunfermline Ne

The Dunfermline Assembly has brought together a representative group of residents who care deeply about their city and want to contribute to its future.

This issue offers new directions for rethinking participation, empowerment, and systemic change beyond the deliberative paradigm, a must-read for scholars and practitioners interested in innovation in democratic governance.
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
@sagepub.com

Full Issue:
tinyurl.com/bderej5d

🎉 New Special Issue Published!
(Vol. 46, Issue 1, Feb 2026) is out now, titled: “Democratic Innovation beyond the Deliberative Paradigm?” Exploring fresh horizons in democratic theory and practice.

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
@sagepub.com @uofgsocsci.bsky.social
@oliverescobar.bsky.social

In this Newsletter: 2025 SURF Award Winners Revealed Open Access Article: Democratic Innovation beyond the Deliberative Paradigm? Reclaim the Economy Week The People Powered 2026 Convening: Global Challenges, Participatory Solutions Open Calls: Piloting and Twinning Programs for Scaling Democratic Innovations Report and Thought Pieces: The Global Conference on New Ways of Governance New Guidelines: Ensuring Impact – A Guide to Effective Set-up and Follow-up of Citizen Participation New Series: This is Community Wealth Building New Article: Exploring the Interplay Between Democratic Innovations and Social Sustainability – A Scoping Review Blog post: Migrant Women’s Experiences of Policy Making and Political Decision Making

🗓️The first 2026 newsletter of the Citizen Participation Network is out 🗞️ including awards, publications, guidelines, funding and events curated from across the field #democracy #participation #deliberation #commons 🤔Available here 👉🏼 www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-j...

🌏 We're excited to share our most recent blog post from INSPIRE's Irish pilot!

"Exploring and Interpreting Migrant Women’s Experiences of Policy Making and Political Decision Making"

Read the full article here: bit.ly/ExploringMig...

#Inspire #Inclusion #Cocreation #Participation #Artsbased

Democratic innovation beyond the deliberative paradigm? Introduction to the special issue Abstract This Special Issue addresses mounting concerns about the dominance of an uncritical interpretation of deliberative democratic theory in the study and practice of democratic innovations. While deliberative democracy provides one of the normative undercurrents of the field, its reduction to procedural design and narrow focus on mini-publics risks constraining the democratic imagination and limiting transformative potential. We support a critical turn in the field of democratic innovation by strengthening empowered citizen participation, widening inclusion, confronting political and social domination, and foregrounding systemic change. The contributions in this Special Issue develop this agenda in two directions: by reasserting the critical dimension of deliberative democracy, and by drawing on alternative theoretical traditions to rethink the scope, design, and practice of democratic innovations. The articles in this collection examine diverse contexts and formats, from arts-based practices and post-conflict deliberation to hybrid institutions and assemblage perspectives, as well as a kaleidoscopic view of democratic theory. Together, they highlight the diversity, contextual embeddedness, and plural normative resources of democratic innovation, offering new directions for democratic renewal.

📎 "Democratic innovation beyond the deliberative paradigm?" Our open access introduction to a new Special Issue of the journal Politics is now available here 👉🏻 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The collection supports a critical turn in the field of democratic innovation. Out in early 2026

Democratic innovation beyond the deliberative paradigm? Introduction to the special issue Abstract This Special Issue addresses mounting concerns about the dominance of an uncritical interpretation of deliberative democratic theory in the study and practice of democratic innovations. While deliberative democracy provides one of the normative undercurrents of the field, its reduction to procedural design and narrow focus on mini-publics risks constraining the democratic imagination and limiting transformative potential. We support a critical turn in the field of democratic innovation by strengthening empowered citizen participation, widening inclusion, confronting political and social domination, and foregrounding systemic change. The contributions in this Special Issue develop this agenda in two directions: by reasserting the critical dimension of deliberative democracy, and by drawing on alternative theoretical traditions to rethink the scope, design, and practice of democratic innovations. The articles in this collection examine diverse contexts and formats, from arts-based practices and post-conflict deliberation to hybrid institutions and assemblage perspectives, as well as a kaleidoscopic view of democratic theory. Together, they highlight the diversity, contextual embeddedness, and plural normative resources of democratic innovation, offering new directions for democratic renewal.

📎 "Democratic innovation beyond the deliberative paradigm?" Our open access introduction to a new Special Issue of the journal Politics is now available here 👉🏻 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
The collection supports a critical turn in the field of democratic innovation. Out in early 2026

dark blue cover of the UNDP Conference Report 'New Ways of Governing', Oslo, 28-29 October 2025

📍Recent Conference 'New Ways of Governing' convened by @undp.org explored 4 tracks:

💾 governance of AI & data
🔎 future of evidence-informed policymaking
✅ democratic innovation
🪙 governance of public finance

📗 4 thought pieces & Conference Report available here 👉🏻 www.undp.org/policy-centr...

In this Newsletter: Call for Papers - Designing Democratic Innovation: Co-Design and the Futures of Participation in Governance Call for Applications – Unlocking Funding & Mentorship for Your Participatory Program Green Tease: Economies of Care and the Commons New Events on Participatory Democracy and Legislative Theatre Workshop: Making Democracy Work Again – Exploring Governance, Participation, and Policy Change Conference: Building Capacity in Behavioural Research Conference: World Community Development PB in 2025: A Summary of a PB Scotland Network Engagement Exercise New Report: Safer Streets, Shared Voices New Report: Amazonian Climate Deliberation Democratic Innovations Podcast: Why Intersectional Inclusion? Video of the Webinar: Climate Policy, Democracy and the Potential of Participatory Budgeting Critique as Political Care: Democracy, Memory, Theory – Invite to Mihaela Mihai's Inaugural Lecture at the University of Edinburgh About the Citizen Participation Network

📍December newsletter, Citizen Participation Network 🗞️ packed with events, resources, publications and more ✅ #democracy. Available here 👉🏻 www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa-j...

Cross-party support for the UCU Edinburgh rally this lunchtime @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social #WeAreTheUniversity #Solidarity