“Beyond representative democracy: adventures in trusting the public”

In her 1977 novel The Dispossessed, Ursula le Guin creates an egalitarian, anarchist society on the planet Anarres. Life on Anarres is hard, communal, but is portrayed as basically happy. However, after 150 years or so, the revolution starts to break down as authoritarian structures begin being developed.

The fight for democracy is often told as a fight about systems of government, different ways to cast our votes and constitutional change, but this is only part of the picture. However good it is, any system or constitution will eventually be subverted by those with power and money. In this talk Simon will explore experiments over the past 10 years or so to engage the public beyond the electoral cycle. He’ll draw on these to discuss ways in which the public voice could be more systematically brought into the way we make the most important decisions facing our country and their potential to hold decision-makers to account. He’ll contrast this to recent moves by the coalition government to introduce more direct democracy. While he’ll not chart a clear path to a mythical, happy, communal society, he’ll suggest a few faltering steps towards a system of government where the voices of citizens are heard and acted on more clearly, and might just keep our elected representatives on the straight and narrow.

 

Simon Burall is the Director of Involve. He has long and extensive experience the fields of democratic reform, governance, public participation, stakeholder engagement, and accountability and transparency. He has worked at the national level in Africa, Asia and Europe as well as on related issues of global governance and democracy.

In addition to his role with Involve, Simon is also the Chair of Democratic Audit, an Ambassador for WWF UK and Head of Dialogue at the ScienceWise Expert Resource Centre.

Before moving to Involve Simon was a Research Fellow at ODI from 2006 – 2009. His interests included stakeholder engagement in the reform of the international aid delivery system and how to make development finance more effective. Prior to this he was the Executive Director of the One World Trust from 1999 – 2005 where he initiated and oversaw the development of the influential Global Accountability Index. Before joining the Trust, Simon re-established the UK volunteer network for AFS, an organisation based in Leeds co-ordinating intercultural exchange visits. Simon has taught both science and English in Namibia and Zimbabwe and was an election monitor in Bosnia Herzegovina in 1997.