Deliberative Systems : Deliberative Democracy at the Large Scale

'Deliberative democracy' dominates democratic theory, but has become too narrowly focused on small-scale consultation exercises. This volume reopens the field, showing how states, and even transnational systems, can be deliberatively democratic. It sets out a new theory but also emphasizes the problems of applying that theory in practice.

'Deliberative democracy' is often dismissed as a set of small-scale, academic experiments. This volume seeks to demonstrate how the deliberative ideal can work as a theory of democracy on a larger scale. It provides a new way of thinking about democratic engagement across the spectrum of political action, from towns and villages to nation states, and from local networks to transnational, even global systems. Written by a team of the world's leading deliberative theorists, Deliberative Systems explains the principles of this new approach, which seeks ways of ensuring that a division of deliberative labour in a system nonetheless meets both deliberative and democratic norms. Rather than simply elaborating the theory, the contributors examine the problems of implementation in a real world of competing norms, competing institutions and competing powerful interests. This pioneering book will inspire an exciting new phase of deliberative research, both theoretical and empirical.