Sortition As Supplement To Danish Democracy

What if elections are not enough? Modern democracy faces growing challenges: increasing political polarisation, declining trust, short-term decision-making, and legislation that becomes ever more complex.In this thought-provoking essay, Danish entrepreneur and democracy advocate Benny Ejholm Nissen explores an alternative democratic mechanism that has existed for more than 2,000 years but is largely forgotten today: sortition – the random selection of ordinary citizens for public decision-making.Rather than replacing elections, this book proposes a practical and realistic model in which a Sortition Chamber works alongside the Danish Parliament as a second legislative chamber. By combining elected representatives with citizens selected by lot, the system aims to improve representation, strengthen legislative quality, reduce partisan influence, and encourage long-term thinking.Drawing on democratic theory, historical examples, modern citizens' assemblies, and a detailed constitutional proposal, the book examines:• Why many democracies struggle with representation and trust• How elections shape political behaviour and concentration of power• The history and principles of sortition• Why randomly selected citizens can make high-quality decisions• A detailed design for a Danish Sortition Chamber (SBT)• How two democratic chambers could cooperate in practice• What constitutional changes would be requiredWhether you are interested in democracy, political reform, constitutional design, or the future of governance, this book offers a concrete proposal for how democratic systems can evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century.Democracy should not stand still while society changes.