This book assesses both the legitimacy and function of deliberative systems in the real world and how individual sites of deliberation interact within the larger political system, looking particularly through the prism of the citizen-led mini-public G1000 in Belgium, which grew out of a feeling of deep democratic crisis.

Didier Caluwaerts is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. His research interests are deliberative and participatory democracy, and democratic, social, and public sector innovation.

Min Reuchamps is Professor of Political Science at the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. His teaching and research interests are federalism and multi-level governance, democracy and its different dimensions, as well as participatory and deliberative methods.

Introduction: Studying the Legitimacy of Citizen-led Deliberative Democracy 1. Democratic Innovation in an Unlikely Place 2. The G1000 and the Funnel of Citizen Participation 3. Participants and Non-participants 4. Democratic Credentials and Trade-offs 5. Deliberation and the Challenge of Multilingualism 6. Political Uptake 7. Public Endorsement 8. Social Offspring and Long-term Consequences Conclusion: Deliberation between Mini- and Maxi-public