Robert E. Goodin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199547944
- eISBN:
- 9780191720116
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547944.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
In recent years, democratic theory has taken a ‘deliberative’ turn. Deliberative democrats tell us, most fundamentally, that we should shun merely adding up votes in favour of talking together. What ...
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In recent years, democratic theory has taken a ‘deliberative’ turn. Deliberative democrats tell us, most fundamentally, that we should shun merely adding up votes in favour of talking together. What especially distinguishes the deliberative democracy movement is its concern with finding ways of putting the theory into practice. A host of micro-deliberative innovations — Citizen's Juries, Consensus Conferences, Deliberative Polls — show us what deliberative democracy might look like in miniature.Less
In recent years, democratic theory has taken a ‘deliberative’ turn. Deliberative democrats tell us, most fundamentally, that we should shun merely adding up votes in favour of talking together. What especially distinguishes the deliberative democracy movement is its concern with finding ways of putting the theory into practice. A host of micro-deliberative innovations — Citizen's Juries, Consensus Conferences, Deliberative Polls — show us what deliberative democracy might look like in miniature.
Robert E. Goodin and John S. Dryzek
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199547944
- eISBN:
- 9780191720116
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547944.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
Democratic theorists often place deliberative innovations such as Citizen's Juries, Consensus Conferences, Planning Cells, and Deliberative Polls at the centre of their hopes for deliberative ...
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Democratic theorists often place deliberative innovations such as Citizen's Juries, Consensus Conferences, Planning Cells, and Deliberative Polls at the centre of their hopes for deliberative democratization. This chapter charts the ways in which such mini-publics can impact on the ‘macro’ world of politics. Impact may come in the form of actually making policy, being taken up in the policy process, informing public debates, market-testing of proposals, legitimation of public policies, building confidence and constituencies for policies, popular oversight, and resisting co-option. Exposing problems and failures is all too easy; the chapter highlights instead cases of success along each of these dimensions.Less
Democratic theorists often place deliberative innovations such as Citizen's Juries, Consensus Conferences, Planning Cells, and Deliberative Polls at the centre of their hopes for deliberative democratization. This chapter charts the ways in which such mini-publics can impact on the ‘macro’ world of politics. Impact may come in the form of actually making policy, being taken up in the policy process, informing public debates, market-testing of proposals, legitimation of public policies, building confidence and constituencies for policies, popular oversight, and resisting co-option. Exposing problems and failures is all too easy; the chapter highlights instead cases of success along each of these dimensions.
Lana Cable
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199295937
- eISBN:
- 9780191712210
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199295937.003.0014
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
This chapter explores ambiguities and contradictions in the thinking of Milton and other republicans, whose ideas about toleration came into conflict with their demands for freedom of conscience. ...
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This chapter explores ambiguities and contradictions in the thinking of Milton and other republicans, whose ideas about toleration came into conflict with their demands for freedom of conscience. Beginning with the politics of virtue whereby they strove to displace divine right with secular claims to an ethical absolute, the chapter demonstrates how republican requisites for both societal cohesion and free conscience were compromised by simultaneous commitments to temporal and eternal orders of value. Drawing on evidence of rhetorical strain in Milton's Readie and Easie Way, deliberative pathos in Samson Agonistes and Buckingham's The Rehearsal, and the devastating triumph of virtue over uncertainty dramatized during the Exclusion Crisis by Nathaniel Lee's Lucius Junius Brutus, the chapter demonstrates representative variations on the free conscience dilemma. Restoration era pressures for free agency are thus shown to be a struggle both for and against temporal reality, both for and against an eternal ideal.Less
This chapter explores ambiguities and contradictions in the thinking of Milton and other republicans, whose ideas about toleration came into conflict with their demands for freedom of conscience. Beginning with the politics of virtue whereby they strove to displace divine right with secular claims to an ethical absolute, the chapter demonstrates how republican requisites for both societal cohesion and free conscience were compromised by simultaneous commitments to temporal and eternal orders of value. Drawing on evidence of rhetorical strain in Milton's Readie and Easie Way, deliberative pathos in Samson Agonistes and Buckingham's The Rehearsal, and the devastating triumph of virtue over uncertainty dramatized during the Exclusion Crisis by Nathaniel Lee's Lucius Junius Brutus, the chapter demonstrates representative variations on the free conscience dilemma. Restoration era pressures for free agency are thus shown to be a struggle both for and against temporal reality, both for and against an eternal ideal.
Walter F. Baber and Robert V. Bartlett
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028738
- eISBN:
- 9780262327046
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028738.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This book explores the practical and conceptual implications of the de facto necessity of consensus for development of international environmental law. Juristic democracy emphasizes the role of the ...
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This book explores the practical and conceptual implications of the de facto necessity of consensus for development of international environmental law. Juristic democracy emphasizes the role of the citizen rather than the nation-state as the source of legitimacy in international environmental law. It would allow international law to be rooted in local knowledge and grounded in democratic deliberation and consensus. The aim is to construct a global jurisprudence based on collective will formation. Building on concepts presented in two previous books, Deliberative Environmental Politics and Global Democracy and Sustainable Jurisprudence, the authors examine in detail the challenges that consensus poses for a system of juristic democracy. Baber and Bartlett analyze the implications of deliberative consensus for rule-bounded behavior, for the accomplishment of basic governance tasks, and for diversity in a politically divided and culturally plural world. They assess social science findings about the potential of small-group citizen panels to contribute to rationalized consensus, drawing on the extensive research conducted on the use of juries in courts of law. Finally, they analyze the place of juristic democracy in a future “consensually federal” system for earth system governance.Less
This book explores the practical and conceptual implications of the de facto necessity of consensus for development of international environmental law. Juristic democracy emphasizes the role of the citizen rather than the nation-state as the source of legitimacy in international environmental law. It would allow international law to be rooted in local knowledge and grounded in democratic deliberation and consensus. The aim is to construct a global jurisprudence based on collective will formation. Building on concepts presented in two previous books, Deliberative Environmental Politics and Global Democracy and Sustainable Jurisprudence, the authors examine in detail the challenges that consensus poses for a system of juristic democracy. Baber and Bartlett analyze the implications of deliberative consensus for rule-bounded behavior, for the accomplishment of basic governance tasks, and for diversity in a politically divided and culturally plural world. They assess social science findings about the potential of small-group citizen panels to contribute to rationalized consensus, drawing on the extensive research conducted on the use of juries in courts of law. Finally, they analyze the place of juristic democracy in a future “consensually federal” system for earth system governance.
George Vasilev
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780748697304
- eISBN:
- 9781474416153
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748697304.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This book addresses the conceptual and practical challenges surrounding the promotion of solidarity in divided societies. It brings together the normative insights of political theory and the ...
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This book addresses the conceptual and practical challenges surrounding the promotion of solidarity in divided societies. It brings together the normative insights of political theory and the empirical insights of comparative research to identify institutional arrangements conducive to ties of responsibility across ethnic lines. Against critics who claim group representative measures are incompatible with solidarity, the book argues they serve as its very basis by providing the incentive structure for interethnic cooperation and openness. It extends the scope of analysis beyond the representative institutions of the nation-state to show how everyday deliberations and transnational influences can also positively shape ethnic relations. The book’s core claim is that what happens outside the state and across state borders also matters, as non-government organisations, international institutions and influential opinion leaders have become increasingly pivotal in shaping attitudes and political behaviour as the salience of international norms on ethnic diversity has grown. This analysis is conducted against the backdrop of several case studies involving various Balkan states, Northern Ireland, South Africa, transnational advocacy networks, and the European Union.Less
This book addresses the conceptual and practical challenges surrounding the promotion of solidarity in divided societies. It brings together the normative insights of political theory and the empirical insights of comparative research to identify institutional arrangements conducive to ties of responsibility across ethnic lines. Against critics who claim group representative measures are incompatible with solidarity, the book argues they serve as its very basis by providing the incentive structure for interethnic cooperation and openness. It extends the scope of analysis beyond the representative institutions of the nation-state to show how everyday deliberations and transnational influences can also positively shape ethnic relations. The book’s core claim is that what happens outside the state and across state borders also matters, as non-government organisations, international institutions and influential opinion leaders have become increasingly pivotal in shaping attitudes and political behaviour as the salience of international norms on ethnic diversity has grown. This analysis is conducted against the backdrop of several case studies involving various Balkan states, Northern Ireland, South Africa, transnational advocacy networks, and the European Union.
Josh Lerner
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801456657
- eISBN:
- 9780801456060
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801456657.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter discusses how US citizens love democracy in theory but hate it in practice. The problem is not with democracy as a concept. In practice, invitations into public life often amount to ...
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This chapter discusses how US citizens love democracy in theory but hate it in practice. The problem is not with democracy as a concept. In practice, invitations into public life often amount to little more than clicking on an online petition. What people need are better opportunities to participate in ways that are personal, effective, and engaging. The chapter explains how democracy is not a static concept. Recently, visionaries have developed new ways to engage the public, including 21st Century Town Meetings, Citizens' Initiative Reviews of ballot measures, and Deliberative Polls that yield more informed public opinions across the globe.Less
This chapter discusses how US citizens love democracy in theory but hate it in practice. The problem is not with democracy as a concept. In practice, invitations into public life often amount to little more than clicking on an online petition. What people need are better opportunities to participate in ways that are personal, effective, and engaging. The chapter explains how democracy is not a static concept. Recently, visionaries have developed new ways to engage the public, including 21st Century Town Meetings, Citizens' Initiative Reviews of ballot measures, and Deliberative Polls that yield more informed public opinions across the globe.
James S. Fishkin
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- June 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198820291
- eISBN:
- 9780191860188
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198820291.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Democracy requires a connection to the “will of the people.” What does that mean in a world of “fake news,” relentless advocacy, dialogue mostly among the like-minded, and massive spending to ...
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Democracy requires a connection to the “will of the people.” What does that mean in a world of “fake news,” relentless advocacy, dialogue mostly among the like-minded, and massive spending to manipulate public opinion? What kind of opinion can the public have under such conditions? What would democracy be like if the people were really thinking in depth about the policies they must live with? This book argues that “deliberative democracy” is not utopian. It is a practical solution to many of democracy’s ills. It can supplement existing institutions with practical reforms. It can apply at all levels of government and for many different kinds of policy choices. This book speaks to a recurring dilemma: listen to the people and get the angry voices of populism or rely on widely distrusted elites and get policies that seem out of touch with the public’s concerns. Instead, there are methods for getting a representative and thoughtful public voice that is really worth listening to. Democracy is under siege in most countries. Democratic institutions have low approval and face a resurgent threat from authoritarian regimes. Deliberative democracy can provide an antidote. It can reinvigorate our democratic politics. This book draws on the author’s research with many collaborators on “Deliberative Polling”—a process he has conducted in twenty-seven countries on six continents. It contributes both to political theory and to the empirical study of public opinion and participation, and should interest anyone concerned about the future of democracy and how it can be revitalized.Less
Democracy requires a connection to the “will of the people.” What does that mean in a world of “fake news,” relentless advocacy, dialogue mostly among the like-minded, and massive spending to manipulate public opinion? What kind of opinion can the public have under such conditions? What would democracy be like if the people were really thinking in depth about the policies they must live with? This book argues that “deliberative democracy” is not utopian. It is a practical solution to many of democracy’s ills. It can supplement existing institutions with practical reforms. It can apply at all levels of government and for many different kinds of policy choices. This book speaks to a recurring dilemma: listen to the people and get the angry voices of populism or rely on widely distrusted elites and get policies that seem out of touch with the public’s concerns. Instead, there are methods for getting a representative and thoughtful public voice that is really worth listening to. Democracy is under siege in most countries. Democratic institutions have low approval and face a resurgent threat from authoritarian regimes. Deliberative democracy can provide an antidote. It can reinvigorate our democratic politics. This book draws on the author’s research with many collaborators on “Deliberative Polling”—a process he has conducted in twenty-seven countries on six continents. It contributes both to political theory and to the empirical study of public opinion and participation, and should interest anyone concerned about the future of democracy and how it can be revitalized.
Anne Newman
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226071749
- eISBN:
- 9780226071886
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226071886.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Educational Policy and Politics
In this book, Anne Newman addresses urgent moral and policy questions about educational justice in a democratic society. She focuses on two questions that arise at the intersection of political ...
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In this book, Anne Newman addresses urgent moral and policy questions about educational justice in a democratic society. She focuses on two questions that arise at the intersection of political theory, educational policy, and the law. The first is a theoretical question: What is the place of a right to education in a deliberative democracy? She argues for this right as a matter of equal citizenship, and emphasizes that it must be shielded from the sway of majoritarian policy-making far more carefully than policy-makers and theorists recognize. She then turns to a related practical question: How can this right be realized in the US?She offers two case studies of leading types of rights-based democratic activism: school finance litigation at the state level, and the mobilization of citizens through community-based organizations. She compares the role of rights claims on these different paths to reform, and also considers how democratic ideals may need to be revised in light of the obstacles that reformers face in their advocacy for educational rights. By bringing together philosophical analysis and policy-minded case studies, this book advances understanding of the relationships among moral and legal rights, education reform, and democratic politics.Less
In this book, Anne Newman addresses urgent moral and policy questions about educational justice in a democratic society. She focuses on two questions that arise at the intersection of political theory, educational policy, and the law. The first is a theoretical question: What is the place of a right to education in a deliberative democracy? She argues for this right as a matter of equal citizenship, and emphasizes that it must be shielded from the sway of majoritarian policy-making far more carefully than policy-makers and theorists recognize. She then turns to a related practical question: How can this right be realized in the US?She offers two case studies of leading types of rights-based democratic activism: school finance litigation at the state level, and the mobilization of citizens through community-based organizations. She compares the role of rights claims on these different paths to reform, and also considers how democratic ideals may need to be revised in light of the obstacles that reformers face in their advocacy for educational rights. By bringing together philosophical analysis and policy-minded case studies, this book advances understanding of the relationships among moral and legal rights, education reform, and democratic politics.
George Vasilev
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780748697304
- eISBN:
- 9781474416153
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748697304.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Chapter 2 examines some prominent models of multicultural coexistence, and defends deliberative models as most consistent with the demands of solidarity. Through their emphasis on reason-giving and ...
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Chapter 2 examines some prominent models of multicultural coexistence, and defends deliberative models as most consistent with the demands of solidarity. Through their emphasis on reason-giving and empathetic imagining, deliberative models offer a basis for the practical and democratic realisation of solidarity’s core tenet of responsibility across difference. Nevertheless, it is also conceded that a deliberative approach brings with it its own set of problems that impede the expansion of solidarity. Specifically, where deliberation ensues from a starting point of marginalisation and disrespect, we can expect it to replicate, rather than overcome, these non-ideal conditions. The final section brings this problem to light in preparation for the subsequent chapters, which focus on how it can be overcome.Less
Chapter 2 examines some prominent models of multicultural coexistence, and defends deliberative models as most consistent with the demands of solidarity. Through their emphasis on reason-giving and empathetic imagining, deliberative models offer a basis for the practical and democratic realisation of solidarity’s core tenet of responsibility across difference. Nevertheless, it is also conceded that a deliberative approach brings with it its own set of problems that impede the expansion of solidarity. Specifically, where deliberation ensues from a starting point of marginalisation and disrespect, we can expect it to replicate, rather than overcome, these non-ideal conditions. The final section brings this problem to light in preparation for the subsequent chapters, which focus on how it can be overcome.
George Vasilev
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780748697304
- eISBN:
- 9781474416153
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748697304.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Chapter 3 analyses institutional designs that are supportive of solidarity. It challenges the view put forward by defenders of institutional homogeneity that group entitlements corrode solidarity by ...
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Chapter 3 analyses institutional designs that are supportive of solidarity. It challenges the view put forward by defenders of institutional homogeneity that group entitlements corrode solidarity by supposedly encouraging parochial behaviour over other-regarding behaviour. It is argued that this view is too one-sided, as it overlooks how group entitlements can compel majorities to orient themselves towards the concerns of marginalised minorities they otherwise have little incentive to respond to under majoritarian decision-making structures.Less
Chapter 3 analyses institutional designs that are supportive of solidarity. It challenges the view put forward by defenders of institutional homogeneity that group entitlements corrode solidarity by supposedly encouraging parochial behaviour over other-regarding behaviour. It is argued that this view is too one-sided, as it overlooks how group entitlements can compel majorities to orient themselves towards the concerns of marginalised minorities they otherwise have little incentive to respond to under majoritarian decision-making structures.
