Making policy information relevant to citizens: a model of deliberative mini-publics, applied to the Citizens’ Initiative Review

Abstract

Research on deliberative mini-publics has neglected two topics: the information on which deliberation is based, and communication techniques by which mini-publics convey their findings to the public. This article sheds light on those two topics, by showing that a criterion for evaluating information -intersubjective relevance -structures information within mini-publics and information that mini-publics share with the wider public. The article explains how information satisfying that criterion can foster intersubjectivity, deliberation and desirable outcomes of deliberation. The article proposes a theoretical model to explain those associations, and presents evidence from the Citizens' Initiative Review, lending support for the model. key words participatory governance • participatory democracy • democratic deliberation• political communication relevance. In this article, I describe this standard and techniques for implementing it in practice. To explain how information satisfying this standard could foster deliberation and beneficial deliberative outcomes, I propose a theoretical model. Finally, I assess the model with empirical findings concerning mini-publics' communications to the populace.

Deliberative Mini-publics as a Partial Antidote to Authoritarian Information Strategies

“…Moreover, in mini-public processes that randomly select participants from the population, participants are likely, on average, to think, speak, and act like the majority of citizens, and to be intimately familiar with the communicative practices of, and typical methods of processing policy information employed by, their fellow citizens (Richards, 2017). Thus mini-public participants, when creating policy information to be distributed to the populace, are likely to select information that is useful to ordinary citizens (Richards, 2017(Richards, , 2018. Those participants are also likely to use techniques of phrasing, formatting, and organization that render such information accessible and relevant to most citizens and readily applicable by most citizens in their political decision making (Richards, 2017).…”

“…Moreover, descriptions of issues in mini-public information resources also address likely actual outcomes of each policy choice, including adverse consequences (Melville et al, 2005). Minipublics that do not frame policy information by means of multiple future scenarios nonetheless often contextualize such information with descriptions of the goals and likely actual consequences of proposed policies (Gastil et al, 2014;Richards, 2017Richards, , 2018. Thus, the distinctive framing techniques employed in deliberative minipublics encourage citizens to transcend the polarizing terms of authoritarian policy discourse, reflect on the merits of social problems and policy proposals, and wrestle with policy trade-offs (Kadlec & Friedman, 2007;Mathews, 1999).…”

“…Scholars of deliberation have also discussed as a criterion of information quality the extent to which policy information relates to citizens themselves or their circumstances (Matthews, 1999) or to social problems or policy solutions (Melville et al, 2005). Those terms seem to refer respectively to the subjective and objective aspects of relevance, meaning the relationship between information and some entity (Harter, 1992;Richards, 2018).…”

“…Citizens are likely to perceive contrasts in quality and framing between policy information from mini-publics and such information provided by the authoritarian state. Policy information disseminated by mini-publics may also encourage citizens to engage in reflection-including critical reflection (Curato, 2015;Dryzek, 2009;Setälä, 2017)-on public problems and policy proposals (Gastil et al, 2016;Niemeyer, 2014;Richards, 2018).…”

“…Beyond these changes in knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes, citizens exposed to improved policy information from mini-publics may undergo various kinds of personal transformation. First, citizens may feel more empowered as civic actors (Pincock, 2012), since policy information and rich policy frames provided by minipublics should foster citizens' sense-making about policy (Baden & De Vreese, 2008;Gastil et al, 2016;Richards, 2018), which in turn should increase citizens' confidence in making political choices (Richards, 2018). Second, citizens' exposure to better policy information from mini-publics and citizens' ensuing experiences of political deliberation may spur the development of citizens' civic identity and values (Black & Lubensky, 2013;Saito, 2008).…”