Beyond the ballot box: Evaluating institutional coupling between citizens’ assemblies and parliamentary procedures in Ireland and France

Dauren Bakhtybayuly Makhambetsaliyev

2026

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DOI 10.1093/pa/gsag018
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Abstract This article examines the institutional mechanisms through which citizens’ assemblies (CAs) connect with parliamentary procedures in Ireland and France, two pioneering democracies in the institutionalization of deliberative mini-publics. Drawing on a comparative case study analysis of the Irish Citizens’ Assembly (2016–2018) and the French Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat (2019–2020), we develop a typology of institutional coupling mechanisms that mediate between deliberative and representative institutions. Our findings reveal that while both jurisdictions have embraced CAs as supplements to parliamentary democracy, they exhibit distinct patterns of integration: Ireland demonstrates “tight coupling” through formalized procedural integration—specifically the use of dedicated joint parliamentary committees and constitutional referendums—whereas France exhibits “loose coupling” characterized by executive mediation and high-stakes presidential commitments that lack robust legislative follow-through. We argue that effective institutional coupling requires a tripartite alignment of formal transmission protocols, dedicated parliamentary accountability structures, and sustained political commitment to implementation. The article contributes to the scholarship on democratic innovation by demonstrating that the efficacy of citizens’ assemblies depends not merely on their internal deliberative quality, but critically on how they are institutionally embedded within the existing parliamentary architecture.