“We Are Willing to Change, If…”: Potential Impacts of Citizens' Assemblies on the Willingness to Change for Sustainability in Rural East German Municipalities

ABSTRACT In light of the democratic and social‐ecological crises, deliberative minipublics such as citizens' assemblies are increasingly implemented and discussed by scholars as a means for sound decision‐making and to enhance public support for sustainability transformations. Through a case study covering three municipalities in East Germany, this article examines how citizens' assemblies can impact the willingness to change for sustainability in rural municipalities. Interviews were conducted with participants of the assemblies, local politicians, and administrative employees. The locally prevailing willingness to change was perceived as low, mainly due to structural barriers and widespread disenchantment with current approaches to sustainability. Despite this, the findings suggest effects of the citizens' assemblies on the participants' willingness to change, notably through a reported increase in knowledge and in the perceived feasibility of change. The described effects on the municipal administration and politics include local trust building and an enhanced participatory culture. The findings point to the potentials of locally adapted solutions, while emphasizing a need for deliberative approaches that are sensitive to both diverging contexts and structural conflicts in sustainability transformations.