Deliberative Democracy

Democratic possibilities for educational policy-making: A comparison of Ontario & Porto Alegre.

by Laura Pinto

Our Schools/Our Selves, 15 (1) (81), 59-73

Requirements of a European Public Sphere. Civil Society, Self, and the Institutionalization of Citizenship.“

by Carlos Closa

Exploring the Democratic Potential of Online Social Networking: The Scope and Limitations of e-Participation

by Panos Panagiotopoulos

In Communications of the Association for Information Systems 30 (16), 2012

Access to the article is without charge following the link below to aisnet.org

The availability and promise of social networking technologies with their perceived open philosophy has increasingly... more The availability and promise of social networking technologies with their perceived open philosophy has increasingly inspired citizens around the world to participate in political activity on the Web. Recent examples range from opposing public policies, such as government funding cuts, to organizing revolutionary social movements, such as those in the Middle East and North Africa. Although online spaces create remarkable opportunities for various forms of political action, there are concerns over the power of existing institutions to control and even censor such interaction spaces. The objective of this article is to draw together different insights on the online engagement phenomenon, highlighting both its potential and limitations as a mechanism for fostering democratic debate and influencing policy making. We examine recent examples from Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Finally, we summarize the implications of our work and outline directions for further research.

Supranational citizenship and democracy: normative and empirical dimensions

by Carlos Closa

in La Torre, Massimo (ed.) (1998) European citizenship; an institutional challenge(Dordrecht: Kluwer Law) pages 415-433

Horizontal Democracy Now: From Alterglobalization to Occupation

by Marianne Maeckelbergh

Interface: a journal for and about social movements 4(1)

This article examines the 15 May movement in Barcelona to explore some continuities and discontinuities between social... more This article examines the 15 May movement in Barcelona to explore some continuities and discontinuities between social movement responses to the economic crisis and previous experiments with horizontal democracy within global social movement networks. Specifically, this article examines two meeting structures embodied in the occupied square in Barcelona to explore the mechanisms through which decision making within the 15 May movement foster diversity and embrace conflict. Based on a decade of involvement in the alterglobalization movement, attendance at meetings in the acampada in Barcelona at the height of the 15 May uprising, as well as follow up interviews and discussions with long-time activists in Barcelona, this article shows how the decision making practices used in the squares in Barcelona mimic, build on and expand on horizontal decision-making methods practiced within the alterglobalization movement. Some of the dilemmas created by the grounding of horizontal decision- making within local squares and the much larger scale of these meetings are explored.

Priority setting of ICU resources in an influenza pandemic: a qualitative study of the Canadian public’s perspectives

by Diego S. Silva

Diego S Silva, Jennifer L Gibson, Ann Robertson, Cécile M Bensimon, Sachin Sahni, Laena Maunula and Maxwell J Smith

Silva et al. BMC Public Health 2012, 12:241
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/241

Background: Pandemic influenza may exacerbate existing scarcity of life-saving medical resources. As a result,... more Background: Pandemic influenza may exacerbate existing scarcity of life-saving medical resources. As a result, decision-makers may be faced with making tough choices about who will receive care and who will have to wait or go without. Although previous studies have explored ethical issues in priority setting from the perspective of clinicians and policymakers, there has been little investigation into how the public views priority setting during a pandemic influenza, in particular related to intensive care resources.

Methods: To bridge this gap, we conducted three public town hall meetings across Canada to explore Canadian’s perspectives on this ethical challenge. Town hall discussions group discussions were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Six interrelated themes emerged from the town hall discussions related to: ethical and empirical starting points for deliberation; criteria for setting priorities; pre-crisis planning; in crisis decision-making; the need for public deliberation and input; and participants’ deliberative struggle with the ethical issues.

Conclusions: Our findings underscore the importance of public consultation in pandemic planning for sustaining public trust in a public health emergency. Participants appreciated the empirical and ethical uncertainty of decision-making in an influenza pandemic and demonstrated nuanced ethical reasoning about priority setting of intensive care resources in an influenza pandemic. Policymakers may benefit from a better understanding the public’s empirical and ethical ‘starting points’ in developing effective pandemic plans.

Digitally Renewing Democracy'? The Potential for eConsultation in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

by G. Honor Fagan

Wahl-Jorgensen, K. (2004). Playground of the pundits or voice of the people? Comparing British and Danish opinion pages. Journalism Studies 5(1), 59-70.

by Karin Wahl-Jorgensen

This paper compares the models for the opinion pages in Danish and British quality newspapers. It examines op-ed and... more This paper compares the models for the opinion pages in Danish and British quality newspapers. It examines op-ed and editorial pages in the three largest-circulation Danish dailies and in the British papers The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and The Times, during a randomly selected two-week period in the autumn
of 2002. The paper also draws on interviews with key personnel at the six papers. Danish and British models for the opinion pages differ in one fundamental way: the British papers draw on regular columnists for their opinion pieces, while their Danish counterparts are made up entirely by unsolicited contributions from members of the public. The paper argues that British newspapers have a top-down and professionalised vision of public debate in mind, whereas the Danish model seeks to include a wider variety of voices and experiences. Nevertheless, both ways of organising the opinion pages ultimately privilege the voices of the powerful and articulate few.

World that Matters: Reply to Poul Houe

by Narve Strand

"In the Shadow of Kierkegaard", Roman Kralik & Abrahim H. Kahn (eds.), University of Toronto/Central European Research Institiute of Søren Kierkegaard, 2011

Praxis and Phronesis in Aristotle and Kierkegaard Praxis and Phronesis in Aristotle and Kierkegaard

Artful Discussion: John Dewey's Classroom as a Model of Deliberative Association

by Jason Kosnoski

Bolivia's Popular Participation Law: An Undemocratic Democratisation Process?

by David Altman

(2003)  In Axel Hadenius (Ed.), Decentralisation and Democratic Governance: Experiences from India, Bolivia and South Africa. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. pp: 63-104. [ISBN-10: 9174963147]. (With Rickard Lalander).

Ativismo ou participação? Por uma agenda de estudos comparativos sobre as formas de inclusão das vozes subalternas

by Francisco Mata Machado Tavares (Franck)

Reciprocity as deliberative capacity: Lessons from a citizens deliberation on carbon pricing mechanisms in Australia

by Alex Lo

Lo, A.Y., Alexander K.S., Proctor, W., Ryan, A. (2012). Environment and Planning C: Government & Policy. [Accepted for publication May 2012].

Australia has seen a deep division in opinion in search of a carbon pricing mechanism. While concepts of carbon... more Australia has seen a deep division in opinion in search of a carbon pricing mechanism. While concepts of carbon taxation and emission trading have comparable public support, climate scepticism is influencing the debates in political and public spheres in downplaying the need for carbon pricing. Public deliberation forum is a possible engagement option to address the conflict inherent in climate policy preferences. This research explores the way that a deliberative forum promoted effective communication between participants through which conflict between policy preferences became more tractable. The forum involved 24 Australians. While it did not eliminate disagreement in preferences in the choice of carbon pricing mechanisms, participants reached consensus on fundamental principles such as the need for trusted sources of information, trusted governance procedures and accountability by appropriate institutions. Shared political expectations encouraged dialogue and cooperation in discussions by enhancing reciprocal understanding. Two sceptical participants who originally had strong disagreements with the rest of the group found common ground. Public deliberative forums that are conducive to reciprocal communication are able to provide a mechanism for joint problem-solving processes that are less adversarial and more responsive to the variety of people’s preferences.

Barisione, M. (2012) - Framing a Deliberation. Deliberative Democracy and the Challenge of Framing Processes

by Mauro Barisione

Among both scholars and practioners, the critical importance of framing processes in the realm of deliberative... more Among both scholars and practioners, the critical importance of framing processes in the realm of deliberative democracy has been neither formally acknowledged nor adequately studied so far. The purpose of this theoretical article is to craft and define the analytical concepts and methodological tools necessary to shed light on this complex relationship. After introducing the notion of ‘deliberative frame’, which is examined across two distinct framing processes – ‘primary’ and ‘derivative’ (or secondary) – this article presents ‘deliberative frame analysis’ (DFA) as a qualitative method which can uncover the ‘meta-frame’ and the specific issue framings (or the deliberative ‘frames’) within a deliberation. This is achieved by examining selected elements both of the organizational context and information materials, and will be illustrated by the example of a famous deliberative poll carried out at European level. Finally, the introduction of authentically competing frames (i.e. ‘counterframes’ and not merely counterarguments) into the deliberative setting, along with the structural possibility for ‘reframing’ in the course of the deliberation, is indicated as a substantive precondition for neutralizing the overall framing effects and thus avoiding a heavily biased deliberation outcome. The article therefore offers a more comprehensive understanding of framing processes as a key challenge for deliberative politics, particularly as regards the legitimacy claims of its various experiments and practices, which are increasingly common in most established democracies.

"Europäische Schuldenkrise" als Demokratiekrise: Zur diskursiven Interaktion zwischen Politik und Finanzmarkt

by Georg Simmerl

To be published in: Berliner Debatte INITIAL, 2012 (3).

German:

Dieses Papier setzt Habermas' Demokratietheorie und post-strukturalistische Finanzmarktsoziologie... more German:

Dieses Papier setzt Habermas' Demokratietheorie und post-strukturalistische Finanzmarktsoziologie in Bezug zueinander, um die zentrale demokratietheoretische Problematik in der "europäischen Schuldenkrise" aufzuzeigen. Im Finanzmarkt-Kapitalismus haben sich die Finanzmärkte selbst zu einer Öffentlichkeit entwickelt, an die sich Exekutivpolitiker argumentativ wenden müssen - Gesellschaft und Ökonomie sind also nicht getrennte Sphären, sondern diskursiv verschränkt. Durch diese Verschränkung wird jedoch der öffentliche Diskurs seiner demokratiesierenden Kraft beraubt.
Dieses Argument wird in drei Schritten expliziert: Im ersten Teil wird zunächst Finanzmarktgeschehen poststrukturalistisch gedeutet, um davon ausgehend die diskursive Verschränkung von Gesellschaft und Finanzmarkt theoretisch zu erfassen und die politische Artikulationslogik im Finanzmarkt-Kapitalismus zu rekonstruieren. Im zweiten Teil wird diese Artikulationslogik mittels einer interpretativen Inhaltsanalyse von vier Reden europäischer Spitzenpolitiker aus dem Jahr 2011 nachgewiesen. Im letzten Teil werden die Erkenntnisse als Evidenz für eine Demokratiekrise diskutiert und gezeigt, dass eine Politisierung sozioökonomischen Wissens - wie sie auch von diesem Paper praktiziert wird – dabei helfen könnte einen Weg aus dieser Demokratie/Finanzkrise zu finden.


English:

This paper puts Habermasian democratic theory and post-structuralist sociology of finance in relation to each other to investigate the central threat of the current “European sovereign debt crisis” to democracy. In financial capitalism, financial markets have become themselves a public which the political executive has to address argumentatively. Society and economy are thus not separated spheres but discursively interconnected. This interconnection, however, strips the democratizing power off public discourse.
The argument is explicated in three parts. The first part interprets financial markets post-structurally to grasp the discursive interconnectedness between society and financial markets in theory and to reconstruct the logic of political articulation in times of financial capitalism. The second part demonstrates this logic of articulation in the European financial crisis by analyzing four speeches of European top politicians during 2011 interpretatively. The third part discusses the findings as evidence for a crisis of democracy and shows that politicization of socio-economic knowledge – as exemplified by this very article – could help finding a way out of this democratic/financial crisis.

De Tánatos a Eros: Conspiración Totalitaria, Autoritarismo y Deliberación Democrática

by Mauricio Uribe López

Revista Política Colombiana No. 3, Contraloría General de la República, Bogotá, 2010

Jensen, Helge Hiram; Løffler, David; Bodin, Halvor (eds.): Kontur Arkitektur (Del 1: Samfunnsbyggverket.). Oslo: Kontur tidsskrift 2003 (ISBN 82-996807-0-0) 180 p. Kontur

by Helge Hiram Jensen

Kontur Journal # 7/8 was a special issue on architecture. The first part (#7) takes a critical approach to the politics of contemporary planning.

Jensen, Helge Hiram; Løffler, David; Bodin, Halvor (eds.): Kontur Arkitektur (Del 2: Økologi - dialog og plan). Oslo: Kontur tidsskrift 2003 (ISBN 82-996807-0-0) 180 p. Kontur

by Helge Hiram Jensen

Kontur Journal # 7/8 was a special issue on architecture. The second part (#8) takes an enthusiastic approach to emerging practice of urban ecology.

“Against the Politics of Fear: On Deliberation, Inclusion, and the Political Economy of Trust”, Philosophy and Social Criticism, vol. 37, issue 2 (Spring 2011), pp. 401-412.

by Albena Azmanova

This is an inquiry into the economic psychology of trust: that is, what model of the political economy of complex... more This is an inquiry into the economic psychology of trust: that is, what model of the political economy of complex liberal democracies is conducive to attitudes that allow difference to be perceived in the terms of ‘significant other’, rather than as a menacing or an irrelevant stranger. As a test case of prevailing perceptions of otherness in European societies, I examine attitudes towards Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

Estratégias de Comunicação Política Online: Uma Análise do Perfil de José Serra no Twitter / Political Campaigns and Online Strategies: The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections

by Francisco Paulo Jamil Marques

Co-authored with Fernando Wisse and Nina Matos. Published in Revista Contemporanea. vol.09 – n.03 – setembro-dezembro 2011.

Title in English: Political Campaigns and Online Strategies:
The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections. Text in... more Title in English: Political Campaigns and Online Strategies:
The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections. Text in Portuguese. Abstract in English: This article examines some of the main changes that Brazilian elections have faced thanks to the new media. More specifically, it studies how the candidate José Serra (PSDB, Brazilian Social Democracy Party) used Twitter over the 2010 presidential race. The text analyzes the new behaviors perceived once the digital media play an important role in getting votes. Are there new methods to run political campaigns? Or indeed one sees the continuity in the ways to reach voters? The study investigates the messages (tweets) posted by José Serra (@ joseserra_) during the 15 days before the 2nd round of presidential elections (17 to October 31, 2010). The empirical sample is based on the 221 messages posted by the candidate in the chosen period of time. On the one hand, we can say that the use of Twitter becomes important (a) to promote the public image of Serra; (b) to build a network with thousands of users willing to support him; and (c) to stimulate informal styles of interaction. On the other hand, it becomes evident that electoral strategies, even on Twitter, remain constrained by traditional conceptions of political marketing. KEYWORDS: Democracy. Elections. Internet. Online Campaigns. Twitter.