Deliberative Democracy

This volume assesses the strengths and weaknesses of deliberative democracy.

Jon Elster (Edited by)

9780521596961, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 March 1998

296 pages, 10 tables
23.4 x 15.5 x 1.9 cm, 0.45 kg

"This thoughtful and engaging volume makes several significant contributions to our understanding of democratic deliberation. Deliberative Democracy's major insights involve the questions and challenges that it raises for our basic conceptions of deliberation and democratic decision-making. These essays place a number of important issues on the research agenda in this field." Jack Knight, Washington University in St. Louis

It is sometimes assumed that voting is the central mechanism for political decision-making. The contributors to this volume focus on an alternative mechanism, that is decision by discussion or deliberation. The original contributions include case studies based on historical and current instances of deliberative democracy, normative discussion of the merits of deliberation compared to other models of collective decision-making, and studies of the conditions under which it tends to improve the quality of decisions. This volume is characterized by a realistic approach to the issue of deliberative democracy. Rather than assuming that deliberative democracy is always ideal, the authors critically probe its limits and weaknesses as well as its strengths.

List of contributors
Preface and acknowledgement
Introduction Jon Elster
1. 'Claro!': an essay on discursive machismo Diego Gambetta
2. Deliberation as discussion James D. Fearon
3. All men are liars: is democracy meaningless? Gerrie Mackie
4. Deliberation and constitution making Jon Elster
5. Pathologies of deliberation Susan C. Stokes
6. Deliberation and ideological domination Adam Przeworski
7. Arguing for deliberation: some skeptical considerations James Johnson
8. Democracy and liberty Joshua Cohen
9. Health-health trade-offs Cass R. Sunstein
10. Full representation, deliberation and impartiality Roberto Gargarella
Index.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA]