Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at the Large Scale (Theories of Institutional Design)

Cambridge University Press, 7/5/2012
EAN 9781107025394, ISBN10: 1107025397

Hardcover, 204 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm
Language: English

'Deliberative democracy' is often dismissed as a set of small-scale, academic experiments. This volume seeks to demonstrate how the deliberative ideal can work as a theory of democracy on a larger scale. It provides a new way of thinking about democratic engagement across the spectrum of political action, from towns and villages to nation states, and from local networks to transnational, even global systems. Written by a team of the world's leading deliberative theorists, Deliberative Systems explains the principles of this new approach, which seeks ways of ensuring that a division of deliberative labour in a system nonetheless meets both deliberative and democratic norms. Rather than simply elaborating the theory, the contributors examine the problems of implementation in a real world of competing norms, competing institutions and competing powerful interests. This pioneering book will inspire an exciting new phase of deliberative research, both theoretical and empirical.

1. A systemic approach to deliberative democracy Jane Mansbridge, James Bohman, Simone Chambers, Thomas Christiano, Archon Fung, John Parkinson, Dennis F. Thompson and Mark E. Warren
2. Rational deliberation among experts and citizens Thomas Christiano
3. Deliberation and mass democracy Simone Chambers
4. Representation in the deliberative system James Bohman
5. Two trust-based uses of minipublics in democratic systems Michael K. MacKenzie and Mark E. Warren
6. On the embeddedness of deliberative systems
why elitist innovations matter more Yannis Papadopoulos
7. Democratizing deliberative systems John Parkinson.

Advance praise: 'Deliberative Systems is a true landmark: an integrated set of essays that analyzes, celebrates, and advocates the turn to systems in deliberative democracy. An impressive set of contributors demonstrates the power of this systems approach on many dimensions, generating effective responses to critics of deliberation. This volume should set the agenda for inquiry on democracy for years to come.' John S. Dryzek, Australian Research Council Federation Fellow, Australian National University