Deliberative Abilities and Influence in a Transnational Deliberative Poll (EuroPolis)

Abstract

Though commanding a prominent role in political theory, deliberative democracy has also become a mainstay of myriad other research traditions in recent years. This diffusion has been propelled along by the notion that deliberation, properly conceived and enacted, generates many beneficial outcomes. This article has three goals geared toward understanding whether these instrumental benefits provide us with good reasons -beyond intrinsic ones -to be deliberative democrats. First, the proclaimed instrumental benefits are systematized in terms of micro, meso, and macro outcomes. Second, relevant literatures are canvassed to critically assess what we know -and what we do not know -about deliberation's effects. Finally, the instrumental benefits of deliberation are recast in light of the ongoing systemic turn in deliberative theory. This article adds to our theoretical understanding of deliberation's promises and pitfalls, and helps practitioners identify gaps in our knowledge concerning how deliberation works and what its wider societal implications might be.

Equal Partners in Dialogue? Participation Equality in a Transnational Deliberative Poll (Europolis)

“…However, we demonstrate elsewhere that the deliberative competence of women and members of new EU countries that participated in Europolis does not significantly rank behind their dominating counterparts (Gerber et al ., ; see also Himmelroos, ). The results are different for working‐class members: their contributions were of lower deliberative quality than those of higher class participants.…”

Deliberation and Complexity of Thinking. Using the Integrative Complexity Scale to Assess the Deliberative Quality of Minipublics

“…While inclusiveness and consequentiality rely on design features and are critical in systemic approaches to deliberation, the authentic requirement refers to what takes place inside the ‘black box’ of deliberative conversations (Gerber et al. ). It denotes the quality of deliberative exchanges and is contingent on citizens’ actual adherence to, and internalisation of, deliberative norms in political exchanges (Rosenberg ).…”

“…These individual‐level variables have implications in terms of both the transformative potential of deliberation and the likelihood of achieving a deliberative context, thereby contributing to theorising about features of the deliberative citizen and the conditions under which they are realised, which is critical for progress in the field of deliberative research (Gerber et al. ; Rosenberg ).…”

“…To be sure, in addition to context there are a number of individual‐level characteristics that have been shown to affect the development of complexity of thinking (Suedfeld ) as well as deliberative norm compliance (Gerber et al. ; Jennstål ). Given that IC proves fruitful as a tool to assess deliberative quality, it could potentially also provide insights on citizens’ deliberative skills and capacities.…”

“…To further improve our understanding of the relationship between complex thinking and deliberation, I will draw attention to a number of socio‐demographic and individual variables (age, gender, education, attitudes and personality) which have previously been linked to individuals’ complexity of thinking and are also of relevance in current discussions on citizens’ deliberative capacities (Gerber et al. ).…”