Objectives

The main objective of COST Action CA22149 CHANGECODE is to systematize, conceptualize, and strengthen, from an epistemic perspective, the theoretical and empirical knowledge regarding the influence of past deliberative practices on contemporary decision-making. By emphasizing this focus, the Action positions itself at the heart of current debates on the potential role of deliberative democracy in stabilizing social and political spheres, as well as in managing contemporary challenges and risks. It aims to foreground, in research, human capacities to prevent conflicts through deliberation and to make decisions on development issues through dialogue.

COST Action CA22149 CHANGECODE will explore the relationships between past, present, and future forms of deliberation by taking into account: 1) historical deliberative practices (diachronic aspects); 2) culture, cognition, and narratives of legitimacy (synchronic aspects); and 3) the goals of deliberative democracy, defined as guiding principles intended to ensure general welfare and positive societal development (integrative level). In this regard, the Action aims to design a research framework to test its original concept and main research method: transhistorical deliberative democracy.

Engagement of the PLDP

Since 2023, the PLDP, through Emilien PAULIS, has been part of Working Group 3, “Contemporary Deliberative Practices,” representing Luxembourg in the Action.

Within this working group, the goal is to harmonize a wide range of essential research fields and disciplines for analyzing “embedded” deliberative practices in order to discuss future development. In this regard, the objective of this working group is to advance toward the formulation of a common research framework to study the impact of historical deliberative practices on contemporary decision-making.

Specific objectives include:

• Mapping methodologies and tools that allow for measuring the quality of deliberation in contemporary societies, in relation to historically and culturally embedded decision-making models, and in alignment with CHANGECODE’s initial working method;
• Exploring deliberative models across different institutional and legal frameworks, as well as changes in deliberation resulting from new governance policies at local, national, and transnational levels (e-democracy, digital voting) and contemporary risks;
• Formulating a common research framework (transhistorical deliberative democracy) to study the impact of historical deliberative practices on contemporary decision-making, with the aim of developing evidence-based policy recommendations;
• Contributing to the design and finalization of a practical tool-kit on deliberative practices.