The Integration of Deliberative Mini-publics in Collaborative Governance Through the Perspectives of Citizens and Stakeholders: The Case of the Education Reform in French-speaking Belgium

The integration of deliberative democracy within larger schemes of policy-making of collaborative governance is a key challenge. Such integration potentially means changes in the role and in the power relationships between the actors of collaborative governance. Indeed, it brings in citizens–who were traditionally not formally involved–along with stakeholders–who were traditionally involved. Through the case of a large-scale education reform in the French-Speaking Community of Belgium, this paper seeks to explore how these actors react to the use of deliberative mini-publics and regard their legitimacy.