In preparation of the referendum on the Euro, Danish authorities organized the Deliberative Poll on the Euro (National folkehøring om Euroen). Across 2 days, 364 citizens discussed the pros and cons of adopting the Euro with experts, politicians, and each other.
Problems and Purpose
The deliberative poll had two goals. The first was to study whether participants tend to change opinion before and after the deliberative events. They are surveyed several times in that respect. The second goal is to organize a visible public event that would improve the quality of information on the topic (here, joining the Euro). The event was therefore quite visible in the media, and parts of it were broadcasted on the Danish National Television. [1]
Background History and Context
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
Participant Recruitment and Selection
A very large sample of the national population was drawn randomly. In total, 2843 citizens were contacted to join the deliberative poll. 1702 of them replied to the phone calls, and after several contacts and reminders, 364 eventually took part to the meeting held in Odense. The final sample is rather representative of the Danish population in terms of gender, age, education, region of residence, occupation, interest for politics, and voting intention for the referendum. There are some small differences (for example, overrepresentation of men, citizens aged between 40-60, university degree holder, interest in politics, and yes vote) but they are not corrected at any stage. The quality of the sample is based on the initially random selection, on the many phone contacts to convince citizens to join, and on the large N. [1]
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
More than formulating prospective recommendations, the basic aim was to improve public awareness of the issue, and to examine how deliberation among citizens as well as talks with experts and politicians may transform public attitudes. In the specific case of Denmark, deliberative polls were held in the context of a referendum to be held a few weeks after. A scientific report and publication by Kasper Hansen study how, and in what direction, participants changed their opinion on the Euro before and after the event. [1]
Analysis and Lessons Learned
See Also
References
External Links
Vibeke Normann Andersen og Kasper Møller Hansen. Deliberativt demokrati og den nationale folkehøring om euroen
Vibeke Normann Andersen and Kasper Møller Hansen. How Deliberation Makes Better Citizens: The Danish Deliberative Poll on the Euro
Notes
This entry is based on the POLITICIZE dataset. More information can be found at the following links:
[1] Paulis, Emilien; Pilet, Jean-Benoit; Panel, Sophie; Vittori, Davide; Close, Caroline, 2020, "POLITICIZE Dataset", https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/Z7X6GT, Harvard Dataverse, V1
[2] Pilet J-B, Paulis E, Panel S.,Vitori D & Close C. 202X The POLITICIZE Dataset: an inventory of Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs) in Europe. European Political Science.