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The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation: Empirical Lessons from Mini-Publics

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  • Simon Niemeyer

    (The Australian National University, Canberra ACT, Australia, simon.niemeyer@anu.edu.au)

Abstract

This article investigates the prospects of deliberative democracy through the analysis of small-scale deliberative events, or mini-publics, using empirical methods to understand the process of preference transformation. Evidence from two case studies suggests that deliberation corrects preexisting distortions of public will caused by either active manipulation or passive overemphasis on symbolically potent issues. Deliberation corrected these distortions by reconnecting participants’ expressed preferences to their underlying “will†as well as shaping a shared understanding of the issue.The article concludes by using these insights to suggest ways that mini-public deliberation might be articulated to the broader public sphere so that the benefits might be scaled up. That mini-public deliberation does not so much change individual subjectivity as reconnect it to the expression of will suggests that scaling up the transformative effects should be possible so long as this involves communicating in the form of reasons rather than preferred outcome alone.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Niemeyer, 2011. "The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation: Empirical Lessons from Mini-Publics," Politics & Society, , vol. 39(1), pages 103-140, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:polsoc:v:39:y:2011:i:1:p:103-140
    DOI: 10.1177/0032329210395000
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John S. Dryzek & Simon Niemeyer, 2006. "Reconciling Pluralism and Consensus as Political Ideals," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(3), pages 634-649, July.
    2. Hugh Ward & Aletta Norval & Todd Landman & Jules Pretty, 2003. "Open Citizens’ Juries and the Politics of Sustainability," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 51(2), pages 282-299, June.
    3. Lupia, Arthur, 1994. "Shortcuts Versus Encyclopedias: Information and Voting Behavior in California Insurance Reform Elections," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 88(1), pages 63-76, March.
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