A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Popular assemblies tend to be freely open to participation, in contrast to elected assemblies and randomly-selected citizens' assemblies, and are a form of

direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without legislator, elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy m ...

. Some popular assemblies consist of people invited from a location, while others invite them from a workplace, industry, educational establishment or protest movement. Some are called to address a specific issue, while others have a wider scope. The term is often used to describe gatherings that address, what participants feel are, the effects of a democratic deficit in representative democratic systems. Sometimes assemblies are created to form an alternative power structure, other times they work with other forms of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Overview

Popular assemblies have a long history. The most famous example in ancient times is the

Athenian democracy Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Ancient Greece, Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Classical Athens, Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, and focusing on supporting lib ...

, where an assembly open to all male citizens was the highest decision-making body in the city-state. A few types of popular assembly dating from pre-modern times have survived and continued to hold binding decision-making powers in the present day, such as the

town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

s of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and the '' Landsgemeinden'' in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Popular assemblies have also arisen during periods of revolutionary turmoil, such as the Russian revolutions in 1905 and in 1917, as well as Catalonia in 1936 and Hungary in 1956. However, this form of

has faced some skepticism from the 19th century onward, with claims that it is impractical to gather all the citizens of a modern state into an assembly.Fishkin, J.S.(1995). ''The Voice of the People: Public Opinion and Democracy''. Yale University Press. Local meetings are common in modern times, but usually only have a consultative role. Graham Smith argues:

Participatory budgeting Participatory budgeting (PB) is a type of citizen sourcing in which ordinary people decide how to allocate part of a municipal or public budget through a process of democratic deliberation and decision-making. These processes typically begin ...

, first developed in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

during the 1990s, uses popular assemblies as part of its direct democratic approach of allocating part of the local budget. Beginning in 2011, some protest movements such as the anti-austerity movement in Spain and Occupy movement have used assemblies of their participants to guide their decision-making. In some places like

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, popular assemblies have been vehicles for organizing local projects and campaigns. In academic writings, the devolution of power to local popular assemblies has been advocated by

Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (; January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. Influenced by G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin, he was a pioneer in the environmental ...

, Benjamin Barber and Frank M. Bryan.

Traditional and historical examples

Athens

the '' ecclesia'' was the assembly which was open to all male citizens, about 30 percent of the city-state's adult population. The assembly could attract large audiences: 6,000 citizens might have attended in Athens during the fifth century BC out of the estimated 30,000–60,000 eligible citizens. The assembly was responsible for declaring war, military strategy and electing the strategoi and other officials. It had the final say on legislation and the right to call magistrates to account after their year of office. The reforms of Solon gave them responsibility for nominating and electing magistrates (

archon ''Archon'' (, plural: , ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem , meaning "to be first, to rule", derived from the same ...

s), though this had been replaced by 487 BC with

sortition In governance, sortition is the selection of public officer, officials or jurors at random, i.e. by Lottery (probability), lottery, in order to obtain a representative sample. In ancient Athenian democracy, sortition was the traditional and pr ...

by lot. The assembly was supervised by the '' boule'', a council of 400–500, whose most important role was to prepare the assembly's agenda. The ''boule'' was selected by soritition, among wealthy men above the age of 30.

Rome

Popular assemblies had a role in the government of the

Roman Kingdom The Roman Kingdom, also known as the Roman monarchy and the regal period of ancient Rome, was the earliest period of Ancient Rome, Roman history when the city and its territory were King of Rome, ruled by kings. According to tradition, the Roma ...

and the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. In the latter, reflecting the Roman view that the people were the source of political power, assemblies had the highest official authority and the final say on laws and appointments. In practice, they were heavily controlled by the magistrates who summoned and presided over them, reducing them to instead being one of three interlinked branches of the Republic alongside the magistrates and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. These assemblies did not initiate or debate proposals, but listened to statements from appointed speakers and voted on proposals. In contrast to the assemblies, the Senate had few official powers, but was effectively the Republic's principle institution of political debate. The oldest assembly was the Curiate Assembly, which was founded during the Kingdom. It did not operate on a

one man, one vote "One man, one vote" or "one vote, one value" is a slogan used to advocate for the principle of equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of democracy and political equality, especially with regard to electoral reforms like ...

principle. Instead, each citizen was assigned to a grouping called a

curia Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

, and majorities of participants in a majority of curiae were necessary to approve a decision, regardless on whether it was supported by an overall majority of participants.Abbott, Frank Frost (1901). ''A History and Description of Roman Political Institutions''. Elibron Classics. . Page 18-19 on Curia. Page 278, 397 on its decline The Centuriate Assembly and Tribal Assembly developed later and operated with a similar system but based on different groupings. Assemblies were dominated by the wealthier classes, as only they could devote time to participating, and they were overrepresented further by the grouping-based voting systems. The Curiate Assembly was already largely ceremonial in the middle of the Republican period, and the late Republic saw a decline of the assemblies' roles. Their last effective powers were abolished during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, with the second Roman emperor,

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

, transferring them to the Senate. Frank Abbott attributes their decline to the transformation of the Roman state from a city-state to an empire; they no longer represented its population and representing the rest of the empire was impractical.

Switzerland

Two cantons in

– Appenzell Innerrhoden and

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.Landsgemeinde'', a traditional open assembly with decision-making powers. The tradition has continuity back to the late Middle Ages, first recorded in the context of the formation of the Old Swiss Confederacy. Eight other cantons historically had a ''Landsgemeinde'' but their importance declined in the 19th and 20th centuries and they came to be seen as an outdated rural tradition. Most were abolished and the remaining two have undergone some changes, such as allowing women to participate. They remain a characteristic symbol of Swiss democracy. A few districts (between municipal and cantonal levels) in

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

and Schwyz also have a ''Lansgemeinde''. The retained ''Landsgemeinden'' each co-exist with an elected council and their powers and role vary according to the cantonal or local government's constitution.Schaub (2012), p. 309. Approving a proposal requires a majority vote and is typically done with a show of hands. The lack of a

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

is controversial, including the question as to whether it is compatable with Article 21.3 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

. Proposals to reform the ''Landsgemeinden'' that have been discussed but not implemented include secret electronic ballotsUeber die Macht des kleinen Buergers. Tagblatt, 28 April 2013. http://www.tagblatt.ch/ostschweiz-am-sonntag/ostschweiz/art304158,3385183 and improving the preliminary debate. Popular assemblies are more common at a municipal level. The vast majority of small municipalities in Switzerland feature a town meeting (''Gemeindeversammlung'') as part of their governance structure, though they are rare in municipalities with a population over 10,000. As of 2020, some of the larger municipalities with a town meeting include Rapperswil-Jona, Baar and Horgen, each with a population in the 20,000-30,000 range.

New England

The

is the traditional governing body of the

New England town The town is the basic unit of Local government in the United States, local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England town ...

, open to all adult residents to discuss and vote on the major issues of town government. It was founded in the colonial era as an outgrowth of church meetings, which then became secularized as a purely governmental meeting. Although larger towns have since moved to more representative forms of government, it is still widely practiced in smaller and more rural communities. They commonly meet once a year on a Tuesday in March. Their exact role and functioning can vary considerably by town, as well as by state. Since the turn of the nineteenth century, political scientists have characterized New England's town meetings as a notable example of

. In 1831, political philosopher

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...

visited several townships in Massachusetts, and his remarks in the first volume of '' Democracy in America'' (1835) praise their democratic and localist culture, as did

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...

. Modern advocates of

deliberative democracy Deliberative democracy or discursive democracy is a form of democracy in which deliberation is central to decision-making. Deliberative democracy seeks quality over quantity by limiting decision-makers to a smaller but more representative sample ...

, such as James Fishkin, have presented the town meeting as a setting of "empowered participation" in which thoughtful deliberation between all participating individuals can coexist with a sense of engaged citizenship and responsibility for solving local problems. Others question their ability to represent the population. Jane Mansbridge and Donald L. Robinson have argued that town meetings in Vermont and Massachusetts feature extremely low turnout in part because they last for a full working day, thus overrepresentating seniors and non-working residents in the meetings. * Mansbridge also notes differences in participation on the basis of education and class when conflicts arise, writing that "the face-to-face assembly lets those who have no trouble speaking defend their interests; it does not give the average citizen comparable protection." Feminist critics have also identified mixed results in town meetings. While women's rates of attendance at town meetings was nearly equal relative to men's, their participation in discussion relative to men declined as the size of the town increased. The similarly named town hall meeting, where politicians meet with their constituents and discuss issues, is named after and meant to resemble the town meeting.

Modern examples

Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002)

During the Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002) many Argentinian citizens started engaging and organising their actions through assemblies. After closure, the Chilvert printing press was occupied by workers who organised through an assembly. Within weeks of being reopened as a workers cooperative Chilvert printed a book calle
''Que son las Asembleas Populares?''
or ''What are the Popular Assemblies?'', a collection of articles written by renowned intellectuals Miguel Bonasso, Stella Calloni and Rafael Bielsa as well as workers and participants in the assemblies. As with other workplaces, the print factory was saved from closure by the actions of a popular assembly. The military and police were blocked from entering the factory after the popular assembly of Pompeya called on barrio residents to protect the workplace. Individual police officers expressed their support for the workers and the popular assembly and successfully petitioned the judge to rescind his order to seize the factory. The assemblies movement is reported to have spiked in power rapidly and fallen from any major significance within months. It is reported that Grigera summing up his analysis of the asambleas states

no matter how progressive or "advanced" the social relationships, forms of decision-making and activities of asambleas are said to be, their small scale, lack of influence and flawed coordination between themselves and other movements render this movement unable to overcome very narrow limitations.

Mexico

The Local Autonomous Governments (GALs), known until 2023 as the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities, are a set of ''de facto'' autonomous municipalities in

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. They are composed of five regions, in total having a population of around 360,000 people as of 2018. The communities form federations with other communities to create higher-level units. At a local level, people attend a popular assembly of around 300 families in which anyone over the age of 12 can participate in decision-making. These assemblies strive to reach a consensus, but are willing to fall back to a majority vote. Elsewhere in Mexico, the town of Cherán saw armed citizens kick out the corrupt police, drug cartels, and mayor in 2011. Since then they have adopted a system of popular assemblies to govern the town, which is somewhat independent of the central government.

Occupy Movement

Occupy Wall Street Washington Square Park 2011 Shankbone

The 2011 Occupy Movement used assemblies of its participants, known as general assemblies (GAs), as its principal decision-making bodies. Most assemblies had a facilitator to preside over the debate. One key feature of the GAs was the use of hand signals to offer feedback on an opinion that was being voiced, as well as other messages such as "clarify". They also used smaller working groups to provide in-depth discussion. Larger assemblies restricted speaking to designated spokespeople for the working groups, but other participants could still show their opinion with hand signals. The GAs operated on the principle of seeking consensus rather than a simple majority. Participants in the assembly typically enjoyed their experience at the GAs, especially in the first month of the protests, though in later months some but not all participants expressed disillusionment. Anthropologist

David Graeber David Rolfe Graeber (; February 12, 1961 – September 2, 2020) was an American and British anthropologist, Left-wing politics, left-wing and anarchism, anarchist social and political activist. His influential work in Social anthropology, social ...

has suggested the use of assemblies was a key reason why the Occupy movement gained momentum, in contrast to many other attempts to start a movement in the aftermath of the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, which used more standard methods of organization but which all failed to get off the ground. There has been some criticism of the model, especially concerning the time it takes to form consensus about specific demands. The specific forms used at the London GA have been criticized for the fact that they allow even a single participant to block consensus, in contrast to GAs in the United States where some require a minimum of 10% of participants to block a motion in order to prevent it being passed. Nathan Schneider has suggested that an issue with assemblies is that to some extent they are incompatible with traditional political groups such as parties, unions and civil society

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

– which is problematic as they need to liaise with these groups to get their message actualized.

Syria

The autonomous region is ruled by a coalition which bases its policy ambitions to a large extent on democratic libertarian socialist ideology of

democratic confederalism Democratic confederalism (), also known as Kurdish communalism, Öcalanism, or Apoism, is a political concept theorized by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic self-organization with the features o ...

and have been described as pursuing a model of economy that blends co-operative and market enterprise, through a system of popular assemblies in minority, cultural and religious representation. The AANES has by far the highest average salaries and

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...

throughout Syria, with salaries being twice as large as in regime-controlled Syria; following the collapse of the Syrian pound the AANES doubled salaries to maintain

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

, and allow for good wages.

Outcomes

It is unclear if traditional popular assemblies such as those in Switzerland offer better inclusivity and fosters a higher level of participation than more conventional secret-ballot voting methods.Schaub (2012), pp. 322-323. Paul Lucardie (2014) notes for example that:

References

"Throw them all out" Argentina's grassroots rebellion, ''Roger Burbach'', Spotlight, 2 July 2002
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External links

Peoples Assemblies - resources, news and calendar

Website for UK Education Assembly January 2011

Website for the European Assembly for Climate Justice November 2010

Via Campsenia - 1000 Cancuns

The Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca

Map of Canadian Peoples Assemblies on Climate Justice December 2010

* * Throw the bums out- Argentines seek break from begging loans, ''Roger Burbach'', 28 February 2002
Spotlight, The abyss in Argentina, ''by Roger Burbach'', 5 May 2002Popular Assemblies in Revolts and Revolutions

Occupy Movement, the Zapatista's and the General Assemblies

Beyond Resistance - Fight the Cuts build Peoples Assemblies ''by Gerry Gold & Paul Feldman'', 2010

Methods to make assemblies and meetings effective, participatory and enjoyable, ''Collaborative document'',

Connect with Occupy activists and community organizers who are coordinating trainings across the United States to build Popular Assemblies

Videos

Video
of The People's Assembly during COP15 outside the Bella Centre, Copenhagen - 16 December 2009
Peoples Assemblies Video ''by Dylan Strain''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popular Assembly Meetings Local government in the United States