Who supports multilingual deliberative mini-publics? A relational perspective from Luxembourg

Amid growing dissatisfaction with political systems, deliberative mini-publics (DMPs) have been systematically proposed. Understanding how the broader public evaluates these processes is therefore critical. This study examines public attitudes toward multilingual DMPs in Luxembourg, using original panel survey data linked to the 2022 Climate Citizens’ Assembly. Adopting a relational lens, we show that attitudes are shaped not only by individual traits or procedural features but by individuals’ – perceived – position within broader societal and political structures. Results indicate that personal multilingual ability has little impact, whereas non-nationals and non-native speakers consistently evaluate DMPs more positively than nationals and native speakers. Reactions to linguistic accommodations vary with baseline attitudes, highlighting the conditional nature of public responsiveness. Overall, the findings demonstrate the embeddedness of public evaluations of DMPs, just as DMPs themselves are situated within wider structures, emphasizing the importance of context-sensitive, relationally informed design to foster inclusive and legitimate deliberative processes.