Enquete commissions are temporary groups established periodically by European parliaments in order to guide public discourse and decision making in complex areas. Commissions have focused on questions such as economic globalization, environmental sustainability, and the formation of new religious and ideological groups. Roughly half of the enquete commissions to date have addressed the use and regulation of emerging science and technology. In these cases, the commissions serve as forums for joint scientific and political consultation designed to inform decision makers, involve the public, and articulate recommendations and strategies for future action. Each commission is unique in terms of membership, topic, and mandate, so general evaluations of the enquete commission as an overarching system for improving democratic discourse and decision making are difficult to formulate. Although they have had mixed results and need improvement, enquete commissions are important innovations in the relationship between politics and science in...