LAST UPDATE | 14 hrs ago

ONE OF THE first actions of New York City’s new mayor, the charismatic democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, has been to announce an ‘Office of Mass Engagement’. The new office is aimed at giving ordinary New Yorkers an unprecedented level of participation in city governance. It is not clear yet exactly how the office will operate, but it states that it will work across agencies and community organisations to incorporate public feedback directly into city policies and “proactively reach communities that have historically been excluded from policymaking.”

Mamdani’s stunning path to power was largely achieved through grassroots action; his campaign amassed an army of over 100,000 volunteers to pound the pavements, knocking on doors and drumming up support, and they were rewarded with the largest voter turnout in the city for decades. With the establishment of this new office, the new mayor looks set to stay true to his commitment to engage ordinary people in public decision-making. These exciting developments in democratic participation may prompt us to ask the question: What has happened to Ireland’s momentum in engaging ordinary citizens in the democratic process?

Up until very recently, Ireland was seen around the world as a trailblazer in incorporating citizens’ voices into public decision-making, through the consistent use of citizens’ assemblies. We have seen a series of such assemblies on topics as diverse as marriage equality, abortion, drug use, biodiversity, models of local governance and gender equality. Ireland has been held up as the poster child internationally for taking the lead in making serious efforts to meaningfully incorporate citizens’ voices in law and policymaking. Yet, since the resounding defeat in 2024 of the family and care referendums (which were........

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