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Activated Citizenship in Conversation

In her new book, Activated Citizenship: the transformative power of citizens’ assemblies, Marjan Ehsassi explores the potential of citizens’ assemblies to address some of the challenges facing contemporary Western democracies. In this interview, Marjan is joined by John Gastil to reflect on key themes from the book. Drawing on both their research and life experiences, this conversation is a thoughtful reflection on citizens’ assemblies covering both the details of the process and the macropolitical challenges and potentials.

by Marjan Ehsassi and John Gastil | Feb 24, 2025

Image by Andi Lanuza

Activated Citizenship in Conversation

by Marjan Ehsassi and John Gastil

Listen to the full interview above.

About the Authors

Marjan Horst Ehsassi is the Executive Director of the Federation for Innovation in Democracy – North America (FIDE – North America). She is based in Washington, DC and her organization advocates, builds capacity, provides technical support and develops case studies and best practices in the design and implementation of citizens’ assemblies.

John Gastil (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science, and School of Public Policy at the Pennsylvania State University. His most recent books are Hope for Democracy (Oxford, 2020) with Katherine R. Knobloch, Legislature by Lot (Verso, 2019) with Erik Olin Wright.

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