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.
J. Benjamin Hurlbut
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231179546
- eISBN:
- 9780231542913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231179546.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
The introduction introduces the topic and central argument of the book: that at the heart of the human embryo research debates was the question of how the public should reason together about a domain ...
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The introduction introduces the topic and central argument of the book: that at the heart of the human embryo research debates was the question of how the public should reason together about a domain of science and technology that touches upon the most fundamental dimensions of human life. It introduces the methodological approach and coproductionist theoretical framework of the study. It introduces the idea of the “constitutional position of science” in American democracy, and illustrates the unacknowledged but constitutional position of scientific authority in John Rawls' idea of public reason.Less
The introduction introduces the topic and central argument of the book: that at the heart of the human embryo research debates was the question of how the public should reason together about a domain of science and technology that touches upon the most fundamental dimensions of human life. It introduces the methodological approach and coproductionist theoretical framework of the study. It introduces the idea of the “constitutional position of science” in American democracy, and illustrates the unacknowledged but constitutional position of scientific authority in John Rawls' idea of public reason.
J. Benjamin Hurlbut
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231179546
- eISBN:
- 9780231542913
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231179546.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
Chapter 8 concludes by reflecting upon the scientific and political developments that ended the stem cell controversy of the 2000s. It argues that the most lasting consequences of this political ...
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Chapter 8 concludes by reflecting upon the scientific and political developments that ended the stem cell controversy of the 2000s. It argues that the most lasting consequences of this political moment lie less in the scientific and technological trajectories that it engendered, than in the imaginations—and institutions—of democracy that emerged out of it. It argues that the embryo debates reflect the dynamics of public reasoning in the United States about the meaning of emerging biotechnologies for democratic visions of progress and the good.Less
Chapter 8 concludes by reflecting upon the scientific and political developments that ended the stem cell controversy of the 2000s. It argues that the most lasting consequences of this political moment lie less in the scientific and technological trajectories that it engendered, than in the imaginations—and institutions—of democracy that emerged out of it. It argues that the embryo debates reflect the dynamics of public reasoning in the United States about the meaning of emerging biotechnologies for democratic visions of progress and the good.
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.
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/9780748697304.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Chapter 4 explores the mechanisms through which political actors in positions of power can be influenced to dismantle unjust decision-making and legal structures from which they benefit. It is argued ...
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Chapter 4 explores the mechanisms through which political actors in positions of power can be influenced to dismantle unjust decision-making and legal structures from which they benefit. It is argued that when such actors are hostile towards principled reform and have the ability to withstand democratic challenges to their privileged position, a combination of civil disobedience and intervention by actors external to the society is required to compel them out of their intransigence. The chapter presents conditionality and transnational networking as practical expressions of this mode of structural change and considers how these practices can inform future efforts at principled reform.Less
Chapter 4 explores the mechanisms through which political actors in positions of power can be influenced to dismantle unjust decision-making and legal structures from which they benefit. It is argued that when such actors are hostile towards principled reform and have the ability to withstand democratic challenges to their privileged position, a combination of civil disobedience and intervention by actors external to the society is required to compel them out of their intransigence. The chapter presents conditionality and transnational networking as practical expressions of this mode of structural change and considers how these practices can inform future efforts at principled reform.
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/9780748697304.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Chapter 5 takes up the question of social transformation from the perspective of attitudes, social norms, and patterned behaviours at the everyday level. It examines how these can be altered to ...
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Chapter 5 takes up the question of social transformation from the perspective of attitudes, social norms, and patterned behaviours at the everyday level. It examines how these can be altered to reflect a situation in which groups are encountering each other from the moral point of view when, previously, misconceptions, disparaging stereotypes or a history of violence left them harbouring dehumanising images of one another. The chapter presents in-group deliberation as a promising, yet underappreciated, vehicle for the achievement of such actor transformations. This claim is supported with reference to case studies showing that public sphere deliberations among like members are just as, if not more, consequential in fostering acceptance of outsiders than deliberations among unlike members, especially when antipathy defines group relations. What characterises such deliberations is the presence of ‘integrative leaders’, that is, individuals who take a leading role in persuading their group to develop a more enlarged and considered understanding of its relationship with another.Less
Chapter 5 takes up the question of social transformation from the perspective of attitudes, social norms, and patterned behaviours at the everyday level. It examines how these can be altered to reflect a situation in which groups are encountering each other from the moral point of view when, previously, misconceptions, disparaging stereotypes or a history of violence left them harbouring dehumanising images of one another. The chapter presents in-group deliberation as a promising, yet underappreciated, vehicle for the achievement of such actor transformations. This claim is supported with reference to case studies showing that public sphere deliberations among like members are just as, if not more, consequential in fostering acceptance of outsiders than deliberations among unlike members, especially when antipathy defines group relations. What characterises such deliberations is the presence of ‘integrative leaders’, that is, individuals who take a leading role in persuading their group to develop a more enlarged and considered understanding of its relationship with another.
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/9780748697304.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Chapter 6 reflects on and defends the book’s central claim that the deliberative approach offers the most appealing framework for the democratic expression of solidarity. It does so against agonistic ...
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Chapter 6 reflects on and defends the book’s central claim that the deliberative approach offers the most appealing framework for the democratic expression of solidarity. It does so against agonistic assertions that deliberative democracy’s focus on the attainment of consensus takes away from the egalitarian expression of diversity. It is argued that a complete rejection of consensus is both unsustainable and undesirable from the very pluralist perspective agonists seek to uphold. In the place of agonists’ wholesale rejection of consensus, the chapter puts forward a conceptualisation of consensus that conceives it as a matter of degree. This conceptualisation not only better captures the complexity of human relations. It also allows us to distinguish the potential accomplishments of aspiring towards consensus from the potential hazards.Less
Chapter 6 reflects on and defends the book’s central claim that the deliberative approach offers the most appealing framework for the democratic expression of solidarity. It does so against agonistic assertions that deliberative democracy’s focus on the attainment of consensus takes away from the egalitarian expression of diversity. It is argued that a complete rejection of consensus is both unsustainable and undesirable from the very pluralist perspective agonists seek to uphold. In the place of agonists’ wholesale rejection of consensus, the chapter puts forward a conceptualisation of consensus that conceives it as a matter of degree. This conceptualisation not only better captures the complexity of human relations. It also allows us to distinguish the potential accomplishments of aspiring towards consensus from the potential hazards.
Govind Persad
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262027465
- eISBN:
- 9780262320825
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027465.003.0014
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
This chapter explains the concept of democratic deliberation and considers its implications for ethical review of human subjects research. Democratic deliberation is an ethical principle relatively ...
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This chapter explains the concept of democratic deliberation and considers its implications for ethical review of human subjects research. Democratic deliberation is an ethical principle relatively new to research ethics. It involves a public exchange of ideas within and across groups of ordinary citizens, experts, and political representatives, and requires participants to engage actively with one another, to offer reasons that are acceptable and intelligible to their interlocutors, and to revise their decisions as new information and new perspectives come into view.Incorporating democratic deliberation into human subjects research would recommend greater inclusion of participants in the review process. This might be achieved by seating participants or their advocates on IRBs, and by otherwise involving them on advisory committees overseeing research. Such inclusion of research participants would follow the model of advisory committees elsewhere in the health care system, which include patients and other stakeholders. It would also counsel against exempting public benefits research, such as experimentation with Medicare and Medicaid benefits, from ethical review.Less
This chapter explains the concept of democratic deliberation and considers its implications for ethical review of human subjects research. Democratic deliberation is an ethical principle relatively new to research ethics. It involves a public exchange of ideas within and across groups of ordinary citizens, experts, and political representatives, and requires participants to engage actively with one another, to offer reasons that are acceptable and intelligible to their interlocutors, and to revise their decisions as new information and new perspectives come into view.Incorporating democratic deliberation into human subjects research would recommend greater inclusion of participants in the review process. This might be achieved by seating participants or their advocates on IRBs, and by otherwise involving them on advisory committees overseeing research. Such inclusion of research participants would follow the model of advisory committees elsewhere in the health care system, which include patients and other stakeholders. It would also counsel against exempting public benefits research, such as experimentation with Medicare and Medicaid benefits, from ethical review.
Jodi Dean
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780748682973
- eISBN:
- 9781474406475
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748682973.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
During 2011, popular movements in Greece, Spain, and the United States included claims that the movements were “post-political.” Neither left nor right, some activists urged, the massing of thousands ...
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During 2011, popular movements in Greece, Spain, and the United States included claims that the movements were “post-political.” Neither left nor right, some activists urged, the massing of thousands in public squares was a rejection of politics and a move to something else. This chapter will consider the oddness of a politics claiming not to be political, elaborating on the contexts in which the claims are raised, as well as the political conflicts the label of “post-political” obscures. I argue that in popular movements of occupation the claim to be post-political operates in multiple registers: a rejection of parliamentarianism, an attempt to constitute a new political space, and as a mechanism of inclusion and exclusion. Yet cutting through all these registers is a more profound division that the language of post-politics attempts to repress or displace – class conflict. Thus, I argue that the very attempt to displace class via an emphasis on post-politics is helping to usher in the contemporary return of communism.Less
During 2011, popular movements in Greece, Spain, and the United States included claims that the movements were “post-political.” Neither left nor right, some activists urged, the massing of thousands in public squares was a rejection of politics and a move to something else. This chapter will consider the oddness of a politics claiming not to be political, elaborating on the contexts in which the claims are raised, as well as the political conflicts the label of “post-political” obscures. I argue that in popular movements of occupation the claim to be post-political operates in multiple registers: a rejection of parliamentarianism, an attempt to constitute a new political space, and as a mechanism of inclusion and exclusion. Yet cutting through all these registers is a more profound division that the language of post-politics attempts to repress or displace – class conflict. Thus, I argue that the very attempt to displace class via an emphasis on post-politics is helping to usher in the contemporary return of communism.
Walter F. Baber and Robert V. Bartlett
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028738
- eISBN:
- 9780262327046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028738.003.0002
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
The linkages between society and the human environment generate normative challenges across at least three distinct dimensions: distribution and social equity, arrangements to institutionalize policy ...
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The linkages between society and the human environment generate normative challenges across at least three distinct dimensions: distribution and social equity, arrangements to institutionalize policy goals and objectives, and production of concrete plans of action. Deliberative democracy offers options for matching techniques to tasks. A process of juristic deliberation can identify widely supported normative principles and general propositions of law through adjudication by citizen juries of hypothetical cases involving environmental disputes. Deliberative polling, policy juries, and other minipublic techniques can identify and cultivate consensus underlying choices among competing policy models. Stakeholder partnerships can structure the kinds of social consensus needed for effective action, plans, and self-regulation. Deliberative democratic processes have potential to inform and legitimate environmental governance at each level in ways that respond to the challenges of ecological rationality, popular participation, and globalization. This model of deliberative policy development offers a coherent picture of a set of processes that lend concreteness and plausibility to the idea of consensus as a something more than a political ideal.Less
The linkages between society and the human environment generate normative challenges across at least three distinct dimensions: distribution and social equity, arrangements to institutionalize policy goals and objectives, and production of concrete plans of action. Deliberative democracy offers options for matching techniques to tasks. A process of juristic deliberation can identify widely supported normative principles and general propositions of law through adjudication by citizen juries of hypothetical cases involving environmental disputes. Deliberative polling, policy juries, and other minipublic techniques can identify and cultivate consensus underlying choices among competing policy models. Stakeholder partnerships can structure the kinds of social consensus needed for effective action, plans, and self-regulation. Deliberative democratic processes have potential to inform and legitimate environmental governance at each level in ways that respond to the challenges of ecological rationality, popular participation, and globalization. This model of deliberative policy development offers a coherent picture of a set of processes that lend concreteness and plausibility to the idea of consensus as a something more than a political ideal.
Walter F. Baber and Robert V. Bartlett
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028738
- eISBN:
- 9780262327046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028738.003.0003
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Existing international law consists of a collection of agreements that represent the will and consent of nation-states with respect to the rules governing their relationships. Although international ...
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Existing international law consists of a collection of agreements that represent the will and consent of nation-states with respect to the rules governing their relationships. Although international law does not include rules promulgated by a unified sovereign authority, its sources are not unique or distinctive--analogous sources contribute to the domestic law of all societies. But three elements of domestic legal systems are lacking in the existing international legal system: an autonomous capacity for growth, democratic legitimacy, and sufficient implementation mechanisms. Development of international environmental law through juristic democracy is a feasible response to the first two of these deficiencies. The democratic legitimacy provided by that continuing development would then support creation of more effective compliance mechanisms—although probably never ones with recourse to the kinds of coercion available domestically--that would lead to a greater general regard of international law as a fact as well as norm.Less
Existing international law consists of a collection of agreements that represent the will and consent of nation-states with respect to the rules governing their relationships. Although international law does not include rules promulgated by a unified sovereign authority, its sources are not unique or distinctive--analogous sources contribute to the domestic law of all societies. But three elements of domestic legal systems are lacking in the existing international legal system: an autonomous capacity for growth, democratic legitimacy, and sufficient implementation mechanisms. Development of international environmental law through juristic democracy is a feasible response to the first two of these deficiencies. The democratic legitimacy provided by that continuing development would then support creation of more effective compliance mechanisms—although probably never ones with recourse to the kinds of coercion available domestically--that would lead to a greater general regard of international law as a fact as well as norm.
Walter F. Baber and Robert V. Bartlett
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028738
- eISBN:
- 9780262327046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028738.003.0006
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Deliberative panels are commonly criticized as both too subject to irrationality and excessively rational, and as producing substantively inferior results compared with more elite decision making. ...
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Deliberative panels are commonly criticized as both too subject to irrationality and excessively rational, and as producing substantively inferior results compared with more elite decision making. Each of these complaints has also been leveled at real world legal juries in civil and criminal cases, and there is an extensive base of research evaluating their merit. Jury irrationality generally refers to poorly reasoned biases being magnified or too little challenged in deliberation, a phenomenon that can be avoided or mitigated using sophisticated techniques. Excessive rationality is alleged to occur as a result of imposing a rationalistic framework with its own blind spots and unresponsive to the concerns of the underrepresented and disadvantaged, which requires ongoing attention to the diversity of juries. In the case of juristic democracy, panel diversity is under the control of facilitators, who also can even create majority minority panels composed of individuals whose perspectives and opinions might otherwise be neglected. The evidence from research on real world legal juries suggests that citizen juries often reach the same results as judges and do as well as knowledgeable professionals such as judges in processing scientific evidence and evaluating expert witnesses.Less
Deliberative panels are commonly criticized as both too subject to irrationality and excessively rational, and as producing substantively inferior results compared with more elite decision making. Each of these complaints has also been leveled at real world legal juries in civil and criminal cases, and there is an extensive base of research evaluating their merit. Jury irrationality generally refers to poorly reasoned biases being magnified or too little challenged in deliberation, a phenomenon that can be avoided or mitigated using sophisticated techniques. Excessive rationality is alleged to occur as a result of imposing a rationalistic framework with its own blind spots and unresponsive to the concerns of the underrepresented and disadvantaged, which requires ongoing attention to the diversity of juries. In the case of juristic democracy, panel diversity is under the control of facilitators, who also can even create majority minority panels composed of individuals whose perspectives and opinions might otherwise be neglected. The evidence from research on real world legal juries suggests that citizen juries often reach the same results as judges and do as well as knowledgeable professionals such as judges in processing scientific evidence and evaluating expert witnesses.
