Abstract
Though commanding a prominent role in political theory, deliberative democracy has also become a mainstay of myriad other research traditions in recent years. This diffusion has been propelled along by the notion that deliberation, properly conceived and enacted, generates many beneficial outcomes. This article has three goals geared toward understanding whether these instrumental benefits provide us with good reasons – beyond intrinsic ones – to be deliberative democrats. First, the proclaimed instrumental benefits are systematized in terms of micro, meso, and macro outcomes. Second, relevant literatures are canvassed to critically assess what we know – and what we do not know – about deliberation’s effects. Finally, the instrumental benefits of deliberation are recast in light of the ongoing systemic turn in deliberative theory. This article adds to our theoretical understanding of deliberation’s promises and pitfalls, and helps practitioners identify gaps in our knowledge concerning how deliberation works and what its wider societal implications might be.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 33 |
| Journal | Journal of Public Deliberation |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 02 Jan 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Export Date: 19 September 2018Correspondence Address: Kuyper, J.W.; University of Oslo, Stockholm UniversityNorway; email: jonathan.kuyper1@gmail.com
References: Andersen, V.N., Hansen, K.M., How deliberation makes better citizens: The Danish Deliberative Poll on the euro (2007) European Journal of Political Research, 46 (4), pp. 531-556; Baccaro, L., Bächtiger, A., Deville, M., Small differences that matter: The impact of discussion modalities on deliberative outcomes (2016) British Journal of Political Science, 46 (3), pp. 551-566; Barabas, J., How deliberation affects policy opinions (2004) American Political Science Review, 98 (4), pp. 687-701; Bächtiger, A., Niemeyer, S., Neblo, M., Steenbergen, M.R., Steiner, J., Disentangling diversity in deliberative democracy: Competing theories, their blind spots and complementarities (2010) Journal of Political Philosophy, 18 (1), pp. 32-63; Bächtiger, A., Parkinson, J., Mapping and Measuring Deliberation, , Forthcoming. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press; Benhabib, S., Toward a deliberative model of democratic legitimacy (1996) Democracy and Difference: Contesting The Boundaries of The Political, pp. 67-94. , S. Benhabib Ed, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; Caluwaerts, D., Reuchamps, M., Does inter‐group deliberation foster inter‐group appreciation? Evidence from two experiments in Belgium (2014) Politics, 34 (2), pp. 101-115; Chambers, S., Deliberative Democratic Theory (2003) Annual Review of Political Science, 6, pp. 307-326; Christensen, H.S., Himmelroos, S., Grönlund, K., Does deliberation breed an appetite for discursive participation? Assessing the impact of first-hand experience (2017) Political Studies, 65 (s1), pp. 64-83; Cohen, J., Deliberative Democracy and democratic legitimacy (1989) The Good Polity, pp. 17-34. , A. Hamlin & Pettit Eds, Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell; Colombo, C., Justifications and Citizen Competence in Direct Democracy: A Multilevel Analysis British Journal of Political Science, pp. 1-20. , Forthcoming; Conover, M., Ratkiewicz, J., Francisco, M.R., Gonçalves, B., Menczer, F., Flammini, A., Political polarization on twitter (2011) ICWSM, 133, pp. 89-96; Cook, F.L., Jacobs, L.R., (1998) Deliberative Democracy in Action: Evaluation of Americans Discuss Social Security, , Washington DC: Pew Charitable Trusts; Coppedge, M., Gerring, J., Altman, D., Bernhard, M., Fish, S., Hicken, A., Semetko, H.A., Conceptualizing and measuring democracy: A new approach (2011) Perspectives on Politics, 9 (2), pp. 247-267; De Fine Licht, J., Naurin, D., Esaiasson, P., Gilljam, M., When does transparency generate legitimacy? Experimenting on a context‐bound relationship (2014) Governance, 27 (1), pp. 111-134; Delli Carpini, M.X., (1997) The Impact of The ‘‘Money-Politics’’ Citizen Assemblies on Assembly Participants, , Unpublished manuscript; Delli Carpini, M.X., Cook, F.L., Jacobs, L.R., Public deliberation, discursive participation, and citizen engagement: A review of the empirical literature (2004) Annual Review of Political Science, 7, pp. 315-344; Drake, A., McCulloch, A., Deliberative consociationalism in deeply divided societies (2011) Contemporary Political Theory, 10 (3), pp. 372-392; Dryzek, J.S., Deliberative democracy in divided societies: Alternatives to agonism and analgesia (2005) Political Theory, 33 (2), pp. 218-242; Dryzek, J.S., Deliberative democracy in divided societies: Alternatives to agonism and analgesia (2005) Political Theory, 33 (2), pp. 218-242; Dryzek, J.S., Democratization as deliberative capacity building (2009) Comparative Political Studies, 42 (11), pp. 1379-1402; Dryzek, J.S., Rhetoric in democracy: A systemic appreciation (2010) Political Theory, 38 (3), pp. 319-339; Dryzek, J.S., The forum, the system, and the polity: Three varieties of democratic theory (2017) Political Theory, 45 (5), pp. 610-636; Dryzek, J.S., List, C., Social choice theory and deliberative democracy: A reconciliation (2003) British Journal of Political Science, 33 (1), pp. 1-28; Dryzek, J.S., Niemeyer, S., Reconciling pluralism and consensus as political ideals (2006) American Journal of Political Science, 50 (3), pp. 634-649; Eisenstadt, T.A., LeVan, A.C., Maboudi, T., When talk trumps text: The democratizing effects of deliberation during constitution-making, 1974–2011 (2015) American Political Science Review, 109 (3), pp. 592-612; Elster, J., The Market and the Forum: Three Varieties of Political Theory (1986) Foundations of Social Choice Theory, pp. 103-132. , J. Elster and A. Hylland Eds, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Elster, J., Deliberation and constitution making (1998) Deliberative Democracy, pp. 97-122. , J. Elster Ed, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Esaiasson, P., Gilljam, M., Persson, M., Which decision‐making arrangements generate the strongest legitimacy beliefs? Evidence from a randomised field experiment (2012) European Journal of Political Research, 51 (6), pp. 785-808; Esaiasson, P., Persson, M., Gilljam, M., Lindholm, T., Reconsidering the role of procedures for decision acceptance British Journal of Political Science, pp. 1-24. , Forthcoming; Esterling, K.M., Neblo, M.A., Lazer, D.M., Means, motive, and opportunity in becoming informed about politics: A deliberative field experiment with members of Congress and their constituents (2011) Public Opinion Quarterly, 75 (3), pp. 483-503; Farrar, C., Green, D.P., Green, J.E., Nickerson, D.W., Shewfelt, S., Does discussion group composition affect policy preferences? Results from three randomized experiments (2009) Political Psychology, 30 (4), pp. 615-647; Farrar, C., Fishkin, J.S., Green, D.P., List, C., Luskin, R.C., Paluck, E.L., Disaggregating deliberation’s effects: An experiment within a deliberative poll (2010) British Journal of Political Science, 40 (2), pp. 333-347; Fishkin, J.S., Luskin, R.C., Broadcasts of deliberative polls: Aspirations and effects (2006) British Journal of Political Science, 36 (1), pp. 184-188; Fung, A., Deliberation before the revolution: Toward an ethics of deliberative democracy in an unjust world (2005) Political Theory, 33 (3), pp. 397-419; Gastil, J., Political communication and deliberation (2008) European Union Politics, 15 (3), pp. 410-429. , London, UK: Sage. Gerber, M., Bächtiger, A., Fiket, I., Steenbergen, M., & Steiner, J. (2014). Deliberative and non-deliberative persuasion: Mechanisms of opinion formation in EuroPolis; Gerber, M., Bächtiger, A., Shikano, S., Reber, S., Rohr, S., Deliberative abilities and influence in a transnational deliberative poll (EuroPolis) (2016) British Journal of Political Science, pp. 1-26. , https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123416000144; Goodin, R.E., Sequencing deliberative moments (2005) Acta Politica, 40 (2), pp. 182-196; Goodin, R.E., Niemeyer, S.J., When does deliberation begin? Internal reflection versus public discussion in deliberative democracy (2003) Political Studies, 51 (4), pp. 627-649; Goodin, R.E., Dryzek, J.S., Deliberative impacts: The macro-political uptake of mini-publics (2006) Politics & Society, 34 (2), pp. 219-244; Grönlund, K., Setälä, M., Herne, K., Deliberation and civic virtue: Lessons from a citizen deliberation experiment (2010) European Political Science Review, 2 (1), pp. 95-117; Grönlund, K., Herne, K., Setälä, M., (2015) Hearing and Understanding The Other Side, , https://ecpr.eu/Filestore/PaperProposal/cae9a9f2-a3b4-4db1-a849edd4815bd666.pdf, Unpublished Working Paper; Gutmann, A., Thompson, D.F., (1998) Democracy and Disagreement, , Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; Habermas, J., (1996) Between Facts and Norms, , Oxford, United Kingdom: Polity; Harriger, K.J., McMillan, J.J., Buchanan, C., Gusler, S., The long-term impact of learning to deliberate: A follow-up study of democracy fellows and a class cohort (2017) Kettering Foundation, , https://www.kettering.org/catalog/product/long-term-impact, Retrieved from; Hendriks, C.M., Integrated deliberation: Reconciling civil society's dual role in deliberative democracy (2006) Political Studies, 54 (3), pp. 486-508; Himmelroos, S., Christensen, H.S., Deliberation and opinion change: Evidence from a deliberative mini‐public in Finland (2014) Scandinavian Political Studies, 37 (1), pp. 41-60; Horowitz, D.L., (1992) A Democratic South Africa?: Constitutional Engineering in A Divided Society, , Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; Jacquet, V., Explaining non‐participation in deliberative minipublics (2017) European Journal of Political Research, 56 (3), pp. 640-659; Jones, D.A., The polarizing effect of a partisan workplace (2013) PS: Political Science & Politics, 46 (1), pp. 67-73; Knobloch, K.R., Gastil, J., Civic (re) socialisation: The educative effects of deliberative participation (2015) Politics, 35 (2), pp. 183-200; Landwehr, C., Holzinger, K., Institutional determinants of deliberative interaction (2010) European Political Science Review, 2 (3), pp. 373-400; Landemore, H., Mercier, H., Talking it out with others vs. Deliberation within and the law of group polarization: Some implications of the argumentative theory of reasoning for deliberative democracy (2012) Análise Social, 47 (205), p. 910; Lazer, D.M., Sokhey, A.E., Neblo, M.A., Esterling, K.M., Kennedy, R., Expanding the conversation: Multiplier effects from a deliberative field experiment (2015) Political Communication, 32 (4), pp. 552-573; Lindell, M., Bächtiger, A., Grönlund, K., Herne, K., Setälä, M., Wyss, D., What drives the polarisation and moderation of opinions? Evidence from a Finnish citizen deliberation experiment on immigration (2017) European Journal of Political Research, 56 (1), pp. 23-45; List, C., Luskin, R.C., Fishkin, J.S., McLean, I., Deliberation, single-peakedness, and the possibility of meaningful democracy: Evidence from deliberative polls (2012) The Journal of Politics, 75 (1), pp. 80-95; Luskin, R.C., Fishkin, J.S., Jowell, R., Considered opinions: Deliberative polling in Britain (2002) British Journal of Political Science, 32 (3), pp. 455-487; Luskin, R.C., O'Flynn, I., Fishkin, J.S., Russell, D., Deliberating across deep divides (2014) Political Studies, 62 (1), pp. 116-135; MacKenzie, M.K., Warren, M.E., Two trust-based uses of minipublics in democratic systems (2012) Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at The Large Scale, pp. 95-124. , J. Parkinson & J. Mansbridge Eds, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Manin, B., On legitimacy and political deliberation (1987) Political Theory, 15 (3), pp. 338-368; Mansbridge, J., Does participation make better citizens? (1995) The Good; Mansbridge, J., Bohman, J., Chambers, S., Estlund, D., Føllesdal, A., Fung, A., Lafont, C., Martí, J.L., The place of self‐interest and the role of power in deliberative democracy (2010) Journal of Political Philosophy, 18 (1), pp. 64-100; Mansbridge, J., Bohman, J., Chambers, S., Christiano, T., Fung, A., Parkinson, J., Thompson, D.F., Warren, M.E., A systemic approach to deliberative democracy (2012) Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at The Large Scale, pp. 1-26. , J. Parkinson & J. Mansbridge Eds, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Mendelberg, T., The deliberative citizen: Theory and evidence (2002) Political Decision Making, Deliberation and Participation, pp. 151-194. , X. Delli Carpini, L. Huddy and R. Shapiro Eds, Greenwhich, CT, JAI Press; Mendelberg, T., Oleske, J., Race and public deliberation (2000) Political Communication, 17 (2), pp. 169-191; Mercier, H., Landemore, H., Reasoning is for arguing: Understanding the successes and failures of deliberation (2012) Political Psychology, 33 (2), pp. 243-258; Minozzi, W., Neblo, M.A., Esterling, K.M., Lazer, D.M., Field experiment evidence of substantive, attributional, and behavioral persuasion by members of Congress in online town halls (2015) Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 112 (13), pp. 3937-3942; Morrell, M., (2010) Empathy and Democracy: Feeling, Thinking and Deliberation, , University Park, PA: Penn State University Press; Mucciaroni, G., Quirk, P.J., Rhetoric and reality: Going beyond discourse ethics in assessing legislative deliberation (2010) Legisprudence, 4 (1), pp. 35-52; Mutz, D.C., Cross-cutting social networks: Testing democratic theory in practice (2002) American Political Science Review, 96 (1), pp. 111-126; Mutz, D.C., Is deliberative democracy a falsifiable theory? (2008) Annual Review of Political Science, 11, pp. 521-538; Neblo, M.A., Esterling, K.M., Kennedy, R.P., Lazer, D.M., Sokhey, A.E., Who wants to deliberate—and why? (2010) American Political Science Review, 104 (3), pp. 566-583; Niemeyer, S., Dryzek, J.S., The ends of deliberation: Meta‐consensus and inter‐subjective rationality as ideal outcomes (2007) Swiss Political Science Review, 13 (4), pp. 497-526; O'Flynn, I., Deliberative democracy, the public interest and the consociational model (2010) Political Studies, 58 (3), pp. 572-589; O’Flynn, I., Pulling together: Shared intentions, deliberative democracy and deeply divided societies (2017) British Journal of Political Science, 47 (1), pp. 187-202; O’Leary, R., Debating consociational politics: Normative and explanatory arguments (2005) From Power Sharing to Democracy: Post-Conflict Institutions in Ethnically Divided Societies, pp. 3-43. , S. Noel Ed Montreal, Canada: McGill-Queen’s University Press; Owen, D., Smith, G., Survey article: Deliberation, democracy, and the systemic turn (2015) Journal of Political Philosophy, 23 (2), pp. 213-234; Parkinson, J., Mansbridge, J., (2012) Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at The Large Scale, , Eds Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Pateman, C., Participatory democracy revisited (2012) Perspectives on Politics, 10 (1), pp. 7-19; Persson, M., Esaiasson, P., Gilljam, M., The effects of direct voting and deliberation on legitimacy beliefs: An experimental study of small group decision-making (2013) European Political Science Review, 5 (3), pp. 381-399; Polletta, F., Lee, J., Is telling stories good for democracy? Rhetoric in public deliberation after 9/11 (2006) American Sociological Review, 71 (5), pp. 699-721; Rosenberg, S., The empirical study of deliberative democracy: Setting a research agenda (2005) Acta Politica, 40 (2), pp. 212-224; Ryfe, D.M., Does deliberative democracy work? (2005) Annual Review of Political Science, 8, pp. 49-71; Sanders, D., The effects of deliberative polling in an EU-wide experiment: Five mechanisms in search of an explanation (2012) British Journal of Political Science, 42 (3), pp. 617-640; Sanders, L.M., Against deliberation (1997) Political Theory, 25 (3), pp. 347-376; Siu, A., (2008) Look Who'S Talking: Examining Social Influence, Opinion Change, and Argument Quality in Deliberation, , Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University; Schneiderhan, E., Khan, S., Reasons and inclusion: The foundation of deliberation (2008) Sociological Theory, 26 (1), pp. 1-24; Steenbergen, M.R., Bächtiger, A., Spörndli, M., Steiner, J., Measuring political deliberation: A discourse quality index (2003) Comparative European Politics, 1 (1), pp. 21-48; Steiner, J., Bächtiger, A., Spörndli, M., Steenbergen, M.R., (2004) Deliberative Politics in Action: Analysing Parliamentary Discourse, , Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Steiner, J., (2012) The Foundations of Deliberative Democracy: Empirical Research and Normative Implications, , Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Steiner, J., Jaramillo, M.C., Maia, R.C., Mameli, S., (2017) Deliberation Across Deeply Divided Societies, , Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Strandberg, K., Himmelroos, S., Grönlund, K., Do discussions in like-minded groups necessarily lead to more extreme opinions? Deliberative democracy and group polarization International Political Science Review, , Forthcoming; Suiter, J., Farrell, D.M., O’Malley, E., When do deliberative citizens change their opinions? Evidence from the Irish Citizens’ Assembly (2016) International Political Science Review, 37 (2), pp. 198-212; Sunstein, C.R., The law of group polarization (2002) Journal of Political Philosophy, 10 (2), pp. 175-195; Sunstein, C.R., (2009) Going to Extremes: How Like Minds Unite and Divide, , Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press; Thompson, D.F., Deliberative democratic theory and empirical political science (2008) Annual Review of Political Science, 11, pp. 497-520; Traber, D., Does participation in policymaking enhance satisfaction with the policy outcome? Evidence from Switzerland (2013) Swiss Political Science Review, 19 (1), pp. 60-83; Ugarriza, E., Caluwaerts, D., (2014) Democratic Deliberation in Deeply Divided Societies: From Conflict to Common Ground, , Eds New York, NY: Springer; Warren, M.E., A problem-based approach to democratic theory (2017) American Political Science Review, 111 (1), pp. 39-53; Wesolowska, E., Social processes of antagonism and synergy in deliberating groups (2007) Swiss Political Science Review, 13 (4), pp. 663-680; Westwood, S.J., The role of persuasion in deliberative opinion change (2015) Political Communication, 32 (4), pp. 509-528; Young, I.M., (2002) Inclusion and Democracy, , Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press on Demand
Keywords
- Deliberative democracy
- Democratization
- Instrumental effects
- Systemic turn