Assemblies Across Borders: The Democratic Transposition of Citizens’ Assemblies in Latin America

Abstract

We propose the concept of democratic transposition to describe how democratic innovations travel and take root in regions, countries, and contexts different from those in which they originated. In such processes, policymakers and practitioners should avoid democratic colonization—the uncritical transfer of models shaped by coercion or epistemic dominance. As an alternative, we advance the notion of deliberative innovation: the idea that innovation should itself emerge from a dialogical process among policymakers, local communities, and international peers. We argue that transposition is deliberative when actors display receptiveness (openness to feedback from both international peers and local communities), sensitivity (attentiveness to local contexts rather than reliance on one-size-fits-all approaches), and generativity (producing outcomes that are not only new but also valuable both locally and beyond). Drawing on four examples—Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile—we illustrate how these experiences demonstrate the potential of deliberative innovation.