{"product_id":"political-lotteries-and-democracy","title":"Political Lotteries and Democracy","description":"Across history, lotteries were used in political selection to combat corruption, ideological polarization, and inequity in access to governance. Today, democracy seems to be facing similar challenges – are lotteries a potential solution? This Element responds to recent calls to incorporate lotteries in democracy, by analyzing historical cases of their use. We focus on the rationale behind and benefits of lotteries – to prevent elite capture, equalize access to power, and improve deliberation – and then the details of their implementation. Drawing on academic research, our chapters analyze the use of lottery-based selection in pre-modern Greece and medieval Florence, and present original micro-level empirical data on lottery-based selection in the construction of the 1848 Danish constitution and in parliaments in 19th century Europe. We conclude with a discussion of how these analyses inform the use of lotteries in modern day governance. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57502086562165,"sku":"9781009278195","price":18.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781009278195.jpg?v=1786780903","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/political-lotteries-and-democracy","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}