Salzburg Global Fellows propose a legislative theater model to bridge the gap between citizens and policymakers
This thought piece was written by Salzburg Global Fellows André Biveti, Cazmir Zaborowski, Samira Ben Ali, and Toninio Waelkens. They attended the Public Policy New Voices Europe session on "Toward Inclusive Democracy: Nurturing Diverse Leadership in Public Policy".
The views expressed in this article are those of these Fellows individually and should not be taken to represent those of Salzburg Global or any organizations to which they are affiliated.
Democracy is in crisis. A Eurobarometer survey shows that 51% of Europeans are not satisfied with how democracy works in their country, while the Open Society Barometer reveals that 35% of young people worldwide support a strong leader bypassing elections. Some of the reasons for this disconnect may include feelings of alienation, limited access to the decision-making processes, and a lack of trust in governance.
Disconnection From Politics
Many citizens feel alienated from political processes and local governance, perceiving politics as distant and irrelevant to their daily lives. This sense of disconnection fosters apathy and disengagement, particularly among young people, who often feel excluded from shaping the societies they inhabit. A study by Chatham House provides key insights into the challenges of youth political engagement:
- Young people feel ignored despite increased political interest: While young people are becoming more active in political matters, they overwhelmingly report feeling neglected by political leaders, undermining their trust in traditional political systems.
- High interest in politics versus lack of responsiveness: Over 50% of young respondents rated their attention to politics as 5 or higher on a scale of 0 to 10 (with 0 meaning "pays no attention" and 10 meaning "thinks about politics all the time"). However, fewer than 20% believed politicians listened to their concerns, with the same score threshold on the same scale.
- Underrepresentation in leadership: A stark lack of age diversity in parliamentary representation exacerbates young people’s feelings of exclusion, leaving them with limited opportunities to influence political decision-making directly.
Lack of Access To Decision-Making
There is a widespread belief that ordinary people lack access to the spaces where critical decisions are made. This perception creates a sense of powerlessness and fuels distrust in democratic institutions. The OECD Survey on the Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions corrobates this with key data and statistics: In November 2023, more people in OECD countries reported having little or no trust in their national government (44%) compared to those expressing high or moderately high trust (39%). The largest disparity in trust is linked to whether people feel they have a voice in government actions. Among those who feel they have a say, 69% trust the national government, whereas only 22% of those who feel unheard express the same level of trust. This dramatic difference underscores how a lack of access to decision-making processes fosters feelings of powerlessness and alienation.
Distrust in Governance
The Perceptions of Democracy study highlights widespread dissatisfaction: In 17 of 19 countries, fewer than half of citizens are satisfied with their governments. Distrust extends to elections, with less than half confident in their integrity, and to courts, where access to justice remains inequitable.
Case Studies
To tackle some of these challenges, new forms of governance and civic engagement need to be established. We draw on "legislative theater" as a core building block for our own design to this end.
Legislative theater was born in Brazil as a tool to transform democracies through constructive dialogue and interaction. It was pioneered in the 1990s by Augusto Boal while serving on Rio de Janeiro's city council to contribute to more active and responsible citizenship in communities. This resulted in the establishment of 13 new laws that tackled topics like discrimination, domestic violence, and improving accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
Various projects followed, positively affecting issues like homelessness prevention, city planning, transport, health services, climate crisis, and civic engagement. An example is the Greater Manchester Combined Authority-led Legislative Theatre, which led to the Greater Manchester Homelessness Prevention Strategy. There are numerous more examples of ongoing legislative theater initiatives.
Legislative theater’s bridging of the everyday citizens’ realities and policymakers’ direct access to decision-making is a fundamental element of our own proposed scalable model for a reimagined democratic system.
The Theater for Transformative Action: A New Model for Collective Democracy
To answer some of the challenges highlighted above, we propose a new model for collaborative governance: The Theater for Transformative Action (TTA). Inspired by war game theory and legislative theater methods, the TTA is envisioned as a new mechanism to revive local governance.
The TTA would have three main components. First, it would begin with legislative theater sessions, where individuals directly affected by specific issues would have the opportunity to share their lived experiences through performance. This process would enable them to create policy proposals rooted in the realities of their lives.
The second component of the TTA involves community resilience games designed to foster engagement. These games would allow citizens to discuss, imagine, and build connections through simulated real-life scenarios.
Finally, the proposals that have been “played” and “acted out” would be reviewed and deliberated in citizens' assemblies, leading to the definition and implementation of real policy decisions.
The Roadmap
The process would begin at the end of an election cycle and start with a review of incoming policymakers’ key agenda items. This would conclude with a public consultation to address any blind spots and specific priorities on the public agenda.
The next phase consists of data collection, lasting between four to eight weeks, where information collection on priority voting issues such as public consensus, key points of disagreement, and general statistics are collected.
We propose a pre-TTA kick-off event with the aim of stimulating and engaging the public where the community can interact with government officials in a more informal setting.
The TTA event will last two to three days, where the public will be placed in the role of deliberating and coming up with proposed policy solutions. The goal here is to impress upon government officials what their own policy should look like, with the aim of being more representative of public consensus and stimulating policy dialogues in the public sphere.
Following the TTA event, a citizens’ assembly will be held to reflect on the results and follow up with the public to collect any final feedback to bring to policymakers.
Finally, the pilot will include a review of how well the TTA proposals are reflected in the policy areas addressed on the agenda and new data gathering to gauge public reception and impacts of the policy. All this information will then be published before the next election cycle and rank government officials based on their record of effectively implementing TTA policy recommendations.
The model is designed to be scalable from the local, regional, and state levels to the federal level, and the process is designed to engage with the public at every step.
Potential Outcomes
Democracies around the world face significant threats. One of the most pressing concerns in many countries worldwide is citizens' growing polarization and disconnection. This can undermine political institutions essential to democratic governance, as politicians undermine the credibility and independence of the media and judiciary.
Engaging in a project like the TTA could turn individuals into activists and strengthen bonds between communities long after participation. If a suggestion is enacted as law, a sense of ownership could motivate the community to work harder for its success.
Various factors often have the potential to limit a project's overall impact. Although scaled projects could bridge gaps between citizens and politicians nationally, motivating them to participate in such a project could prove difficult. Projects need to be funded, and while they aid the democratic process, policymakers might have different priorities. Engaging them early would enhance their understanding and influence policy decisions.
More research is needed to determine the true impact of these projects over time and beyond the communities that participated. Such studies could highlight their potential to foster lasting democratic engagement and inspire similar initiatives in other regions, creating a ripple effect of positive change.
André Biveti, Cazmir Zaborowski, Samira Ben Ali, and Toninio Waelkens are members of the third cohort of the Salzburg Global Public Policy New Voices Europe program. They attended the session on "Toward Inclusive Democracy: Nurturing Diverse Leadership in Public Policy".
In 2025, the program focus is on "Rebuilding Trust and Cohesion in European Public Policy".
Learn more about the Public Policy New Voices Europe program.
