Deliberative Democracy

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.

• Deliberative democracy is one of the hottest issues in political theory, notably through the influence of Jürgen Habermas • Authors include some of the most prominent political theorists on the contemporary scene • Includes historical and contemporary cases as well as focused normative and analytical accounts

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.