Deliberative democracy and the climate crisis

Abstract

No democratic state has yet implemented a climate plan strong enough to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. This has led some to argue that democracy cannot cope with a challenge of this magnitude. In this article, we take stock of the claim that a more deliberative democratic system can strengthen our ability to respond effectively to the climate crisis. The most visible development in this direction is the recent citizens’ assemblies on climate change in Ireland, France, and the UK. We begin our analysis of the promise of deliberative democracy with a recognition of the difficulties that democracies face in tackling climate change, including short‐termism; the ways in which scientific and expert evidence are used; the influence of powerful political interests; and the relationship between people and the politicians that represent them. We then introduce the theoretical tradition of deliberative democracy and examine how it might ameliorate the challenges democracies face in responding to the climate crisis. We evaluate the contribution of deliberative mini‐publics, such as citizens’ assemblies and juries, and look beyond these formal processes to examine how deliberation can be embedded in political and social systems around the world. We conclude that deliberation‐based reforms to democratic systems, including but not limited to deliberative mini‐publics, are a necessary and potentially transformative ingredient in climate action. This article is categorized under: Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication Policy and Governance > Governing Climate Change in Communities, Cities, and Regions

When Digital Mass Participation Meets Citizen Deliberation: Combining Mini- and Maxi-Publics in Climate Policy-Making

“…Moreover, in accordance with [61], triangulating a deliberative component with a "snapshot" participatory value evaluation gave not only policy-makers but also media reporters, as well as environmental, community, and industry advocates a fuller understanding of public opinion about future energy and climate policy. As the authors of [27] put it, our three-step process, therefore, spurred public opinion formation embedded in a larger deliberative system and contributed to discussions in various sites, across time, organized by different sets of factors [23].…”

“…While some of these climate mini-publics are having an impact, others have failed to do so [20,22]. As the authors of [23] summarize, the greatest challenge is their integration into the political system. Table 1 provides a critical examination of how key elements in climate mini-publics can manifest less than ideal in practice and discusses solutions to alleviate these issues.…”

Community-Engaged Research is Best Positioned to Catalyze Systemic Change

“…The challenges inherent in such a transition can drive the formation of unlikely coalitions that come together to support or oppose certain issues (Ciplet, 2022). Studying these dynamics while embracing community-engaged research may help to resolve disagreements and inform the design of policies that are palatable to a broad range of constituents, and contribute to research exploring the transformative role of deliberative democracy to climate action (Dryzek & Niemeyer, 2019;Willis et al, 2022).…”

Climates of democracy: Skeptical, rational, and radical imaginaries

“…Democratic deliberation, which (ideally) involves a fair, equal and inclusive exchange of reasons between citizens and stakeholders in a public forum, is expected to improve understanding and to encourage a sense of community and consideration of both human others and their environment. It is expected to “place reasoned discussion at the heart of democracy” (Willis et al, 2022, p. 3). For Robyn Eckersley democratic deliberation is also valuable for environmental policymaking because it exposes the policies and interests of social, political, and economic elites to public scrutiny and “privileges generalizable interests over private, sectional, or vested interests, thereby making public interest environmental advocacy a virtue rather than a heroic aberration in a world of self‐regarding rational actors” (Eckersley, 2004, p. 117).…”