A citizens’ assembly in Athens, 2,345 years later
When questioning locals around Athens’ Acropolis about the Pnyx (or Pnyka), most have no idea what you are talking about; these historical sites are largely overlooked by tourists and residents alike. Yet, nestled on the hillside opposite the Parthenon, the Pnyx is at the very core of Ancient Athens’ democratic legacy. Nevertheless, it took 2,345 years since the last ecclesia met in 322 BC to hold a proper citizens’ assembly on its plateau. It did so under the aegis of The Democratic Odyssey, a pan-European project bringing together the citizens’ assembly tradition of ancient Athens and the potential unleashed by modern cutting-edge technologies, including through the role of AI in enabling translation between our 24 official European languages.
Our world seems bleak these days, as we once more learn the meaning of war on our continent and in our neighborhood. On one side we have the forces of darkness, authoritarianism and civil division, the trampling of women’s rights and the disappearance of trust among citizens and between them and their politicians. On the other, there’s a hugely inspiring movement in Europe and around the world experimenting with radical democracy and citizens’ empowerment, of the kind that may help subvert autocracies from below and renew the old promise of self-government.
Imagine, dear reader, how modern Athens could help tip the scales in this epic struggle. Imagine a world where citizens are more than sporadic voters, where their voices resonate constantly in the corridors of power. And imagine the EU reinventing itself as a laboratory for a radical transformation of democracy beyond the state. This is the vision that The Democratic Odyssey aims to bring to the European Union: A permanent standing citizens’ assembly, rooted in civil society, serving as the EU’s fourth branch of government, which focuses on the creation of such an eco-system.
The assembly we are calling for would be inspired by the ancient Greek notion that random selection among ordinary citizens promotes inclusive access to power, helps resist corruption in office and offers people a sense of ownership of their polity. It would be connected to both the EU institutional policy-making machinery and the broader public sphere, and would become a true fixture of the EU landscape. Crucially, this assembly would not meet in the Brussels bubble but would travel across Europe, meeting with local actors and representatives at national parliaments or other spaces. Our Democratic Odyssey’s project, which started as a trial run at the Pnyx last September, is being formally initiated on September 27-29 before moving on to other European cities.
Kalypso Nicolaidis is chair of global affairs at the School of Transnational Governance of the European University Institute. She will also be speaking at the Athens Democracy Forum, October 1-3.
