After new forms of democracy and citizen participation – such as citizens’ assemblies and participatory budgeting – initially established themselves in representative democracies, they have also been gaining importance in Switzerland for a few years now. Until now, the Department of General Democracy Research (ADF) has been primarily concerned with this phenomenon and has researched it from a political science perspective. As a subject of research, democratic innovations offer a wide range of points of contact for the various disciplines represented in the departments of the Centre of Democracy Studies Aarau. Over the next four years (2026–2029), they will therefore become a cross-cutting theme for the entire Centre of Democracy Studies Aarau.
