So cool – sociocratic consultation of locals

Democracy is under pressure worldwide and trust in existing democratic institutions has been declining for years. Trust is both a prerequisite for effective politics and its outcome. (Re)building trust is a long-term process with trust-building measures on both sides - politicians and citizens. The capacity and spaces for collective dialogue play a key role in this process. Actively listening to each other, understanding each other's position, enables the negotiation of a common world (Arendt 1969). In a political-public spaces of "action", the local democracy of majority and minority decisions can be transformed into a culture of cooperation based on consent. A recent case study from the Netherlands shows how a sociocratic variant of the proto-participatory participatory tool of 'consultation' can enable a new culture of communication both in the local council and between politicians and citizens. Within the framework of this project, this and other approaches to consultation are examined on the basis of case studies, a model of sociocratic consultation for Vienna is developed, prototypically tested, evaluated and researched. The results of the prototype test run will be communicated with the help of short videos. The research results will be published in an academic publication and will contribute to current research on democracy.