Robust Deliberative Democracy

Abstract

Deliberative democracy aspires to secure political liberty by making citizens the authors of their laws. But how can it do this in the face of deep disagreement, not to mention imperfect knowledge and limited altruism? Deliberative democracy can secure political liberty by affording each citizen an equal position as a co-author of public laws and norms. Moreover, fundamental deliberative democracy-in which institutional design is ultimately accountable to public deliberation but not necessarily subject to its direct control-does not strain knowledge or altruism. Thus, there is a place for deliberative democracy in a robust political economy.

How do public leaders learn from society? A reflexive analysis of action learners

“…The provincial government of Gipuzkoa (Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa) in the Basque Country (North West Spain, capital San Sebastian) is trying to build citizen engagement through the programme, Etorkizuna Eraikiz , which comprises different projects in which public authorities and 2 citizens co-participate. Policy makers attempt to define the agenda of the region in collaboration with society, to counter the distance and disaffection of citizens towards politics and to require that political leaders motivate and mobilize citizens to become more involved in projects (Benson, 2019;Layman, 2016;Martí, 2017). At the time the research upon which this paper is based began, Etorkizuna Eraikiz was in its second year (one year prior to the election), it included 40 projects of different kinds involved more than 160 organizations.…”

The President Is in: Public Opinion and the Presidential Use of Twitter

“…Rawls (2005, pp. 134-72) argues that these considerations must be justifiable on grounds acceptable to members of a variety of distinct reasonable "comprehensive doctrines," or worldviews, that form an "overlapping consensus" on citizens' status as free and equal and on accompanying basic liberties (Layman, 2016). A central discussion on the theory of deliberative democracy in recent decades has focused on whether democratic deliberation, and consequently those participating in it, should aim, at least ideally, for political consensus (Martí, 2017).…”