Deliberation experience increases perceived legitimacy in Honduras

What the study found: Experience with deliberation increased how legitimate people judged deliberative processes to be. In the Honduras study, people without deliberative experience viewed deliberative processes as less legitimate than the status quo, while experience substantially boosted legitimacy even among people who disagreed with the policy outcome.
Why the authors say this matters: The authors conclude that the findings matter for research on deliberative democracy, democratic innovations, and citizen engagement. They also say the results carry implications for efforts to scale deliberative projects.
What the researchers tested: The study examined deliberative citizens’ assemblies, also called deliberative mini-publics, which are small groups of citizens brought together to deliberate on public issues. In Honduras, the author used an experiment that paired real deliberation with survey-experimental measures of legitimacy.
What worked and what didn't: The results suggest that deliberative experience increased legitimacy and that this effect was strong enough to appear even among participants who did not agree with the policy outcome. The abstract also says the argument was that experience should increase legitimacy by improving perceptions of process fairness and changing views about citizens’ ability to deliberate.
What to keep in mind: The abstract does not provide details about the size of the sample, the specific policy issue, or the limits of the experiment beyond the Honduras setting. It also does not describe any null results or limitations in the available summary.

Key points

• Experience with deliberation increased perceived legitimacy of deliberative processes.
• People without deliberative experience viewed deliberative processes as less legitimate than the status quo.
• The legitimacy boost appeared even among participants who disagreed with the policy outcome.
• The study tested deliberative citizens’ assemblies, or deliberative mini-publics, in Honduras.
• The authors say the findings have implications for deliberative democracy, democratic innovations, and citizen engagement.