Deliberative Democracy

Deliberative Democracy

Definition

Wikipedia Definition

"Deliberative democracy, also sometimes called discursive democracy, is a term used by political theorists, e.g., Jon Elster or Jürgen Habermas, to refer to any system of political decisions based on some tradeoff of consensus decision making and representative democracy. In contrast to the traditional economics-based theory of democracy, which emphasizes voting as the central institution in democracy, deliberative democracy theorists argue that legitimate lawmaking can only arise from the public deliberation of the citizenry." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliberative_democracy)

Definition by the Deliberative Democracy Consortium

" Deliberation is an approach to decision-making that involves an informed public, thinking critically together and discussing options from multiple points of view. It encourages enlarged perspectives, opinions, and understandings and can result in better decisions and policies." (http://www.deliberative-democracy.net/)

Explanation

From the DDC, at http://www.deliberative-democracy.net/deliberation/:

"What is "deliberation"?

Deliberation is an approach to decision-making in which citizens consider relevant facts from multiple points of view, converse with one another to think critically about options before them and enlarge their perspectives, opinions, and understandings.

What is "deliberative democracy"?

Deliberative democracy strengthens citizen voices in governance by including people of all races, classes, ages and geographies in deliberations that directly affect public decisions. As a result, citizens influence--and can see the result of their influence on--the policy and resource decisions that impact their daily lives and their future.

Why is deliberation important?

Public deliberation can have many benefits within society. Among the most common claims are that public deliberation results in better policies, superior public education, increased public trust, and reduced conflict when policy moves to implementation.

How does deliberation happen?

There is a growing inventory of methods to bring the public into decision-making processes at all levels around the world--from local goverment to multinational institutions like the World Bank. Working in groups as small as ten or twelve to larger groups of 3,000 or more, deliberative democracy simply requires that representative groups of ordinary citizens have access to balanced and accurate information, sufficient time to explore the intricacies of issues through discussion, and their conculsions are connected to the governing process.

Where has deliberation been used?

Government entities around the world, from municipalities in Brazil to the Danish Parliament, have come to rely upon deliberative bodies to provide policy, budget, and planning advice. Countries whose governments have a track-record of involving their citizens in deliberation include Denmark, the UK, Brazil, Australia and Canada." (http://www.deliberative-democracy.net/deliberation/)

More Information

The tools for deliberation are summarized in those two documents by the DDC:

Matrix of face to face deliberation methods, at http://www.deliberative-democracy.net/resources/library/f2f_matrix_030304.pdf

Matrix of online methods to enhance public engagement, at http://www.deliberative-democracy.net/resources/library/online_matrix_041004.pdf

French-language article on how the internet may actually be a hindrance to deliberation because of its Plural Monocultures, at http://www.esprit.presse.fr/review/article.php?code=13254

Key Books to Read

James Fishkin. Democracy and Deliberation. 1991

"James Fishkin's 1991 work, "Democracy and Deliberation" introduced a concrete way to apply the theory of deliberative democracy to real-world decision making, by way of what he calls the Deliberative opinion poll. In the deliberative opinion poll, a statistically representative sample of the nation or a community is gathered to discuss an issue in conditions that further deliberation. The group is then polled, and the results of the poll and the actual deliberation can be used both as a recommending force and in certain circumstances, to replace a vote. Dozens of deliberative opinion polls have been conducted across the United States since his book was published" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliberative_democracy)

Jon Elster, ed. Deliberative Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 282 pages.

Nino, C. S. (1996)The Constitution of Deliberative Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press

The Deliberative Democracy Handbook [1]