The was hosted by the University of Zurich (UZH) for the first time from June 23 to 27, 2025 鈥� previously held at the University of Canberra (兔子先生; four times) and 脜bo Academy in Finland (twice). Bringing together 50 scholars from 14 countries who gathered to present and discuss their work on issues at the intersection of inequality and deliberative democracy.
The Deliberative Democracy Summer School brings together the world鈥檚 most influential scholars and an international cohort of PhD students specialising in the field of deliberative democracy. It is a three-day event held every eighteen months, moving between Canberra and 脜bo/Turku in Finland. Stay tuned for announcements about future summer schools.
Deliberative democracy stands at a critical crossroads. After decades of experimentation, the institutionalization of deliberative mini-publics signals both the maturation of the "deliberative wave" and a moment of reckoning about its transformative promise. As practices spread across continents, new questions arise about the globalization 鈥� and necessary decolonization 鈥� of deliberative democracy, challenging Eurocentric models and foregrounding plural democratic practices. At the same time, rapid advances in artificial intelligence present both unprecedented opportunities for scaling participation and profound risks to epistemic integrity and human agency. These pressures unfold amid intensifying environmental crises that demand a shift toward more-than-human democracy, alongside escalating extremist attacks that test democratic resilience worldwide. This Summer School invites participants to engage these urgent tensions, rethink the futures of public deliberation, and explore how democratic innovations can respond to a turbulent and unequal world.
You are invited to submit paper proposals for the 8th Deliberative Democracy Summer School, taking place on 16鈥�18 February 2027 at the University of Canberra, Australia. This summer school is the Centre for Deliberative Democracy's flagship programme for PhD students from around the world. We are accepting submissions from PhD students presenting papers on any topic related to deliberative democracy. We especially encourage submissions that focus on deliberative theory, deliberative practice in the Global South, methodological innovations in public sphere research, the role of deliberation in building democratic resilience, and deliberation and AI.
Interested participants may submit their applications . Papers will be assessed based on their relevance to the summer school's thematic priorities, as well as their contribution to a diverse range of topics and approaches across the programme.
There is no registration fee for the summer school, but participants are expected to fund and organise their own flights and accommodation.
Canberra 2024
The 6th Deliberative Democracy Summer School was held from 7th to 9th February 2024. Over three days, 50 leading academics and PhD students from around the world explored key issues and current research on deliberative democracy.
The Summer School featured workshops on publishing journal articles and methods for empirical research as well as and roundtable discussions focusing on research impact and the future of deliberative democracy.
Finland 2022
The fifth Summer School in Deliberative Democracy and Public Opinion took place between the 20th and 22nd of June, in 脜bo, Turku, Finland. It was organized by the at 脜bo Akademi University (Samforsk) in collaboration with Canberra University, the University of Turku, Tampere University, and the ECPR Standing Group on Democratic Innovations.
Canberra 2020
The fourth Deliberative Democracy Summer School brings together an international group of PhD students and leading scholars in deliberative democracy. The three-day event is designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas about the latest developments in the field, particularly the role of deliberative minipublics in the democratisation of political systems.
Finland 2018
The third Deliberative Democracy Summer School is hosted by The Finnish Centre for Democracy Research at the University of Turku and 脜bo Akademi University and is held in collaboration with the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra.
Canberra 2017
The second Deliberative Democracy Summer School features presentations of top scholars and students in the field of deliberative theory, practice and methodology. The event runs for three days, with morning sessions allocated to plenary speakers and roundtables, and afternoon sessions devoted to student presentations.
Professor Simone Chambers is the keynote speaker for this year鈥檚 event.
Canberra 2015
The Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance is hosting the first Deliberative Democracy Summer School at the University of Canberra. The three-day summer school will provide intensive training to post-graduate students and early career researchers on the current debates in the theory of deliberative democracy, empirical applications, the role of mini-publics and other forums in deliberative capacity-building, and methods for ascertaining deliberative quality within structured forums and large-scale deliberative systems.
