- John Dryzek is Distinguished Professor and former Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow in the Centre for Delib... moreJohn Dryzek is Distinguished Professor and former Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow in the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. Previously he was ARC Federation Fellow and Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University. He is a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and former Head of the Departments of Political Science at the Universities of Oregon and Melbourne.(John Dryzek is Distinguished Professor and former Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow in the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. Previously he was ARC Federation Fellow and Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University. He is a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and former Head of the Departments of Political Science at the Universities of Oregon and Melbourne.)edit
This position paper develops an algorithmic approach to deliberation as the basis for institutional reflexivity. We propose the idea of algorithmic reflexive governance for socio- techno-ecological systems, bringing together... more
This position paper develops an algorithmic approach to deliberation as the basis for institutional reflexivity. We propose the idea of algorithmic reflexive governance for socio- techno-ecological systems, bringing together interdisciplinary ideas from Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Theory in systems that recognize the interactions between social, technological, and ecological actors and processes. We argue that this innovative approach to conservation and sustainability can make a significant contribution to mitigating the climate emergency.
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Research Interests: Sociology, Political Philosophy, Epistemology, Political Theory, Judgment and decision making, and 15 moreDemocratic Theory, Political Science, Public Deliberation, Social Choice Theory, Deliberative Democracy, Democracy, Group Processes, Social and Political Philosophy, Deliberation, Group Decision Making, Scrutiny, Public Dialogue and Deliberation, Majority rule, Theory of Democracy, and Impossibility Theorem(Democratic Theory, Political Science, Public Deliberation, Social Choice Theory, Deliberative Democracy, Democracy, Group Processes, Social and Political Philosophy, Deliberation, Group Decision Making, Scrutiny, Public Dialogue and Deliberation, Majority rule, Theory of Democracy, and Impossibility Theorem)
(Democratic Theory, Political Science, Public Deliberation, Social Choice Theory, Deliberative Democracy, Democracy, Group Processes, Social and Political Philosophy, Deliberation, Group Decision Making, Scrutiny, Public Dialogue and Deliberation, Majority rule, Theory of Democracy, and Impossibility Theorem)
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We define deliberation minimally to mean mutual communication that involves weighing and reflecting on preferences, values, and interests regarding matters of common concern. Deliberative democracy incorporates the requirements that... more
We define deliberation minimally to mean mutual communication that involves weighing and reflecting on preferences, values, and interests regarding matters of common concern. Deliberative democracy incorporates the requirements that deliberation take place in contexts of equal recognition, respect, reciprocity, and sufficiently equal power for communicative influence to function. These aspirational ideals have inspired a flourishing field, with theoretical and empirical research across many disciplines, and many democratic innovations and practices in many countries and cultures. We survey the evolution of the ideals of deliberative democracy, their numerous sites in deliberative systems, the places of these sites within broader political arenas, and the many critics, criticisms, and revisions the concept and practice of deliberative democracy have attracted.
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Deliberative democracy has been the main game in contemporary political theory for two decades and has grown enormously in size and importance in political science and many other disciplines, and in political practice. The Oxford Handbook... more
Deliberative democracy has been the main game in contemporary political theory for two decades and has grown enormously in size and importance in political science and many other disciplines, and in political practice. The Oxford Handbook of Deliberative Democracy takes stock of deliberative democracy as a research field, as well as exploring and creating links with multiple disciplines and policy practice around the globe. It provides a concise history of deliberative ideals in political thought while also discussing their philosophical origins. It locates deliberation in a political system with different spaces, publics, and venues, including parliament and courts but also governance networks, protests, mini-publics, old and new media, and everyday talk. It documents the intersections of deliberative ideals with contemporary political theory, involving epistemology, representation, constitutionalism, justice, and multiculturalism. It explores the intersections of deliberative democracy with major research fields in the social sciences and law, including social and rational choice theory, communications, psychology, sociology, international relations, framing approaches, policy analysis, planning, democratization, and methodology. It engages with practical applications, mapping deliberation as a reform movement and as a device for conflict resolution. It documents the practice and study of deliberative democracy around the world, in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and global governance. And it provides reflections on the field by pioneering thinkers.
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We agree with Castree that higher-quality deliberation among representatives is indeed a key element for renewing our democracies. More and better deliberation in representative institutions might produce more publicly acceptable and... more
We agree with Castree that higher-quality deliberation among representatives is indeed a key element for renewing our democracies. More and better deliberation in representative institutions might produce more publicly acceptable and sustainable policies. A deliberative citizenry can help achieve this goal. Empirical research of political systems in the United States and Europe ([ 1 ][1], [ 2 ][2]) shows that under appropriate conditions—namely, coalition settings, second chambers to check power, secrecy, low party discipline, low issue polarization, and the strong presence of moderate parties—genuine deliberation can be found in legislatures. This research also demonstrates that good deliberation is not easy to achieve in representative institutions that lack favorable conditions. Under normal political conditions in adversarial systems such as the United States and United Kingdom—namely, strong partisan competition and high issue polarization—high-quality deliberation is rare. Therefore, we need to think about reforms that would facilitate higher-quality deliberation in representative institutions. Given that institutional reforms in adversarial systems (for instance, in the direction of more consensual procedures) are rare, elite deliberation could greatly benefit from being exposed to more citizen deliberation. For this reason, we emphasized the idea that citizens could lead the way. As we explained in the context of the Irish example, citizen deliberation helped make interactions in the Dail (Irish parliament) more deliberative, especially on the highly divisive issue of abortion. Moreover, research has shown that direct deliberative exchanges between representatives and their constituents in the United States helped citizens rebuild political trust and helped representatives truly engage with citizens' policy views ([ 3 ][3]). Renewal of our democracies requires better deliberation among citizens, among politicians, and between them. 1. [↵][4]1. J. Bessette , The Mild Voice of Reason: Deliberative Democracy and American National Government (University of Chicago Press, 1994). 2. [↵][5]1. J. Steiner, 2. A. Bachtiger, 3. M. Sporndli, 4. M. Steenbergen , Deliberative Politics in Action: Analysing Parliamentary Discourse (Cambridge University Press, 2004). 3. [↵][6]1. M. A. Neblo, 2. K. M. Esterling, 3. D. M. J. Lazer , Politics with the People: Building a Directly Representative Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2018). [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [5]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [6]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text"
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To what extent can we hope to secure effective democratic control in environmental policy? This issue can be unpacked into two more precise questions. The first is a ‘macro’ one: can any more effective shaping of environmental policy be... more
To what extent can we hope to secure effective democratic control in environmental policy? This issue can be unpacked into two more precise questions. The first is a ‘macro’ one: can any more effective shaping of environmental policy be undertaken by democratic means in contemporary liberal capitalist societies? The second question is more ‘micro’, and contingent on some degree of affirmative answer to the first: can the choice of environmental policy instruments affect the prospects for democratic control? In keeping with the focus of this collection, I shall approach the second question through reference to regulatory and quasi-market orientations to anti-pollution policy.
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In Amartya Sen’s The Idea of Justice, democracy is necessary for the reconciliation of plural justice claims. Sen’s treatment of democracy is however incomplete and inadequate: democracy is under-specified, there are unrecognized... more
In Amartya Sen’s The Idea of Justice, democracy is necessary for the reconciliation of plural justice claims. Sen’s treatment of democracy is however incomplete and inadequate: democracy is under-specified, there are unrecognized difficulties in any context featuring deep moral disagreement or deep division and a conceptualization of public reason in the singular erodes his pluralism. These faults undermine Sen’s account of justice. Developments in the theory of deliberative democracy can be deployed to remedy these deficiencies. This deployment points to a deliberative system encompassing those affected by collective decisions, with places for non-partisan forums and discursive representatives, conditionally open to multiple forms of communication, and geared to the production of workable agreements under normative and discursive meta-consensus. Democracy does not guarantee justice, but in a plural world it is essential to the pursuit of justice.
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The Australian Citizens\u27 Parliament was held in February 2009, with one participant from each federal electorate. The main meeting was a culmination of a process involving a series of regional meetings and online development of... more
The Australian Citizens\u27 Parliament was held in February 2009, with one participant from each federal electorate. The main meeting was a culmination of a process involving a series of regional meetings and online development of proposals by citizen participants. Within a broad charge of \u27How can Australia\u27s political system be strengthened to serve us better?\u27 participants could develop their own proposals and so craft the agenda. The process yielded a set of recommendations for the structure and operation of government, as well as masses of social scientific data
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Global climate change and governance will widely but unevenly impact people's lives around the world. There is thus an urgent need to ensure that the people who will be affected by climate change itself, as well as by mitigation and... more
Global climate change and governance will widely but unevenly impact people's lives around the world. There is thus an urgent need to ensure that the people who will be affected by climate change itself, as well as by mitigation and adaptation measures, are appropriately represented in decision making processes. In short, there is an urgent need to democratise global climate governance. But the absence of traditional liberal democratic mechanisms in the international system poses an obvious challenge to democratising global governance. A plausible alternative to the cosmopolitan ambition of importing the domestic democratic architecture to the international system is to enhance the deliberative capacity of existing governance arrangements. Deliberative governance arrangements offer perhaps the most promising opportunity for responding to the social challenges of global climate change and governance. The effective functioning of these arrangements depends crucially on vibrant pub...
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This chapter begins by elaborating on the concept of discourse, then turns to how the main discourses of environmental concern can be mapped through reference to their reactions against an earlier industrialism. It examines the content,... more
This chapter begins by elaborating on the concept of discourse, then turns to how the main discourses of environmental concern can be mapped through reference to their reactions against an earlier industrialism. It examines the content, history, and impact of the discourses of environmental problem-solving, limits and survival, sustainability, and green radicalism, as well as old and new backlashes against environmentalism. The chapter then considers the importance of discourses in ordering international environmental affairs compared with other influences. Ultimately, the influence of discourses can be discerned only by writing histories of particular cases. But in the end there is one reason to expect discourses to be more consequential in the international system than in the internal affairs of states. Formal institutions are relatively weak in the international system, meaning coordination (and disruption) across actors has to be supplied by informal mechanisms such as discourses.
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This position paper develops an algorithmic approach to deliberation as the basis for institutional reflexivity. We propose the idea of algorithmic reflexive governance for socio- techno-ecological systems, bringing together... more
This position paper develops an algorithmic approach to deliberation as the basis for institutional reflexivity. We propose the idea of algorithmic reflexive governance for socio- techno-ecological systems, bringing together interdisciplinary ideas from Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Theory in systems that recognize the interactions between social, technological, and ecological actors and processes. We argue that this innovative approach to conservation and sustainability can make a significant contribution to mitigating the climate emergency.
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Research Interests: Marine Biology, Corporate Governance, Fisheries, Fisheries Management, Jurisdiction, and 15 moreOcean governance, Marine Science, Marine biodiversity, Biodiversity, Global Environmental Change, Global Environmental Governance, Marine and Fisheries Policy, Earth System Science, Marine, Governance of Marine and Coastal Resources, Anthropocene, Marine Policy, Earth system governance, Marine Genetic Resources, and Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction(Ocean governance, Marine Science, Marine biodiversity, Biodiversity, Global Environmental Change, Global Environmental Governance, Marine and Fisheries Policy, Earth System Science, Marine, Governance of Marine and Coastal Resources, Anthropocene, Marine Policy, Earth system governance, Marine Genetic Resources, and Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction)
(Ocean governance, Marine Science, Marine biodiversity, Biodiversity, Global Environmental Change, Global Environmental Governance, Marine and Fisheries Policy, Earth System Science, Marine, Governance of Marine and Coastal Resources, Anthropocene, Marine Policy, Earth system governance, Marine Genetic Resources, and Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction)
Global institutions are afflicted by severe democratic deficits, while many of the major problems facing the world remain intractable. Against this backdrop, we explore the prospects for a deliberative approach that puts effective,... more
Global institutions are afflicted by severe democratic deficits, while many of the major problems facing the world remain intractable. Against this backdrop, we explore the prospects for a deliberative approach that puts effective, inclusive, and transformative communication at the heart of global governance. This approach can advance both democratic legitimacy and effective problem solving. Existing institutions such as multilateral negotiations, international organizations, regimes, governance networks, and scientific assessments can be rendered more deliberative and democratic. Such reforms can pave the way for more thoroughgoing transformations in the global order that could involve citizens' assemblies, nested forums stretching from the local to the global, transnational citizens' juries and other mini-publics, crowdsourcing, and a global dissent channel. We pay special attention to climate change, peacebuilding, and global poverty.
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We agree with Castree that higher-quality deliberation among representatives is indeed a key element for renewing our democracies. More and better deliberation in representative institutions might produce more publicly acceptable and... more
We agree with Castree that higher-quality deliberation among representatives is indeed a key element for renewing our democracies. More and better deliberation in representative institutions might produce more publicly acceptable and sustainable policies. A deliberative citizenry can help achieve this goal. Empirical research of political systems in the United States and Europe ([ 1 ][1], [ 2 ][2]) shows that under appropriate conditions—namely, coalition settings, second chambers to check power, secrecy, low party discipline, low issue polarization, and the strong presence of moderate parties—genuine deliberation can be found in legislatures. This research also demonstrates that good deliberation is not easy to achieve in representative institutions that lack favorable conditions. Under normal political conditions in adversarial systems such as the United States and United Kingdom—namely, strong partisan competition and high issue polarization—high-quality deliberation is rare. Therefore, we need to think about reforms that would facilitate higher-quality deliberation in representative institutions. Given that institutional reforms in adversarial systems (for instance, in the direction of more consensual procedures) are rare, elite deliberation could greatly benefit from being exposed to more citizen deliberation. For this reason, we emphasized the idea that citizens could lead the way. As we explained in the context of the Irish example, citizen deliberation helped make interactions in the Dail (Irish parliament) more deliberative, especially on the highly divisive issue of abortion. Moreover, research has shown that direct deliberative exchanges between representatives and their constituents in the United States helped citizens rebuild political trust and helped representatives truly engage with citizens' policy views ([ 3 ][3]). Renewal of our democracies requires better deliberation among citizens, among politicians, and between them. 1. [↵][4]1. J. Bessette , The Mild Voice of Reason: Deliberative Democracy and American National Government (University of Chicago Press, 1994). 2. [↵][5]1. J. Steiner, 2. A. Bachtiger, 3. M. Sporndli, 4. M. Steenbergen , Deliberative Politics in Action: Analysing Parliamentary Discourse (Cambridge University Press, 2004). 3. [↵][6]1. M. A. Neblo, 2. K. M. Esterling, 3. D. M. J. Lazer , Politics with the People: Building a Directly Representative Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2018). [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #ref-3 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [5]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [6]: #xref-ref-3-1 "View reference 3 in text"
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This chapter shows how open deliberation can enhance the legitimacy of policy making, and how it can also, as a science, overcome the bounded rationality of individuals. This chapter explores the value of deliberation in evaluation... more
This chapter shows how open deliberation can enhance the legitimacy of policy making, and how it can also, as a science, overcome the bounded rationality of individuals. This chapter explores the value of deliberation in evaluation especially in an environment policy context, not as a tool for democracy per se but as toll for better policy. The social science background to these claims will be explored and examples given of the application of deliberation to better policy making. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the approach will be explored.
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For almost three decades, the international community has grappled with the challenge of avoiding dangerous global climate change. The failure to produce a new comprehensive treaty in Copenhagen, in 2009, provoked debate about appropriate... more
For almost three decades, the international community has grappled with the challenge of avoiding dangerous global climate change. The failure to produce a new comprehensive treaty in Copenhagen, in 2009, provoked debate about appropriate decision-making ...
Research Interests: Economics, Public Opinion, Climate Change, Global Governance, Climate change policy, and 15 moreCorporate Governance, Political Science, International Negotiation, Legitimacy, Political Legitimacy, Deliberative Democracy, Environmental Politics, Democracy, Global Environmental Governance, global Climate change, Multilateralism, Democratic Legitimacy, Critical Policy Studies, Decision making process, and Climate Governance(Corporate Governance, Political Science, International Negotiation, Legitimacy, Political Legitimacy, Deliberative Democracy, Environmental Politics, Democracy, Global Environmental Governance, global Climate change, Multilateralism, Democratic Legitimacy, Critical Policy Studies, Decision making process, and Climate Governance)
(Corporate Governance, Political Science, International Negotiation, Legitimacy, Political Legitimacy, Deliberative Democracy, Environmental Politics, Democracy, Global Environmental Governance, global Climate change, Multilateralism, Democratic Legitimacy, Critical Policy Studies, Decision making process, and Climate Governance)
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Normative deliberative theory has contributed much to an understanding of ideal procedural standards, but there is considerable uncertainty regarding the appropriate nature of desired deliberative outcomes. In this paper we identify two... more
Normative deliberative theory has contributed much to an understanding of ideal procedural standards, but there is considerable uncertainty regarding the appropriate nature of desired deliberative outcomes. In this paper we identify two inter-related concepts of metaconsensus and intersubjective rationality as outcomes that an authentic deliberative process ought to produce. Importantly, these deliberative ends are consistent with ideal deliberative procedure. They are also empirically tractable, where preference transformation can be described in terms of underlying values, and judgments. Methods for assessing deliberative ends are provided and demonstrated using a case study.
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Ecological modernization now suggests that environmental values can be attached to the state's core economic imperative, while Ulrich Beck's risk society thesis suggests an environmental attachment to the state's core... more
Ecological modernization now suggests that environmental values can be attached to the state's core economic imperative, while Ulrich Beck's risk society thesis suggests an environmental attachment to the state's core legitimation imperative. These developments could add up to a conservation imperative of the state—the green state—though no state is yet close to this situation. Norway has entrenched ecological modernization in a moderate weak form. Germany is closest to a strong form of ecological modernization that, in combination with risk‐induced legitimation crisis, points the way to a more reflexive and democratic political economy. The US has the sort of movement that could facilitate such a transformation—but its state has moved in exactly the opposite direction, casting economic and environmental values in old‐fashioned conflictual terms. Even the UK at long last appears to be capable of taking on board some of the key precepts of ecological modernization and dem...
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JSD: I’d like to begin this exchange by noting that there is much to celebrate when it comes to both the field of Environmental Politics and its top journal – this one. The field is flourishing, as indicated by the presence now of several... more
JSD: I’d like to begin this exchange by noting that there is much to celebrate when it comes to both the field of Environmental Politics and its top journal – this one. The field is flourishing, as indicated by the presence now of several journals, book series by many major publishers, the fact that environmental politics courses are taught at most universities in the English-speaking world. It wasn’t always thus. In the mid-1980s I had a hard time finding a publisher for my Rational Ecology book; indeed, it only appeared because a publisher thought it wasn’t really about the environment (which nobody would be interested in), but about collective choice. The voices in this exchange are all from Australia (though two of us are not Australians, and we all care about global issues too), so I should note that in Australasia in particular the field has been enlivened by the Ecopolitics Association, spanning academia, activism, party politics, and policy, and which recently published the first issue of its own journal (Ecopolitics: Thought and Action).
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Developments in biosemiotics and democratic theory enable renewed appreciation of the possibilities for ecological democracy. Semiotics is the study of sign processes in meaning-making and communication. Signs and meanings exist in all... more
Developments in biosemiotics and democratic theory enable renewed appreciation of the possibilities for ecological democracy. Semiotics is the study of sign processes in meaning-making and communication. Signs and meanings exist in all living systems, and all living systems are therefore semiotic systems. Ecological communication can involve abiotic and biotic communication, including human language, facilitating an integration of politics and ecology in the form of ecological democracy encompassing communicative networks in nature and human society.
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We show, against skeptics, that however latent it may be in everyday life, the ability to reason effectively about politics can readily be activated when conditions are right. We justify a definition of deliberative reason, then develop... more
We show, against skeptics, that however latent it may be in everyday life, the ability to reason effectively about politics can readily be activated when conditions are right. We justify a definition of deliberative reason, then develop and apply a Deliberative Reason Index (DRI) to analysis of 19 deliberative forums. DRI increases over the course of deliberation in the vast majority of cases, but the extent of this increase depends upon enabling conditions. Group building that activates deliberative norms makes the biggest difference, particularly in enabling participants to cope with complexity. Without group building, complexity becomes more difficult to surmount, and planned direct impact on policy decisions may actually impede reasoning where complexity is high. Our findings have implications beyond forum design for the staging of political discourse in the wider public sphere.
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What does vaccine justice require at the domestic and global levels? In this essay, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop, we argue that deliberative-democratic participation is needed to answer this question. To be effective on the... more
What does vaccine justice require at the domestic and global levels? In this essay, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a backdrop, we argue that deliberative-democratic participation is needed to answer this question. To be effective on the ground, abstract principles of vaccine justice need to be further specified through policy. Any vaccination strategy needs to find ways to prioritize conflicting moral claims to vaccine allocation, clarify the grounds on which low-risk people are being asked to vaccinate, and reach a balance between special duties toward countrymen and universal duties toward foreigners. Reasonable moral disagreement on these questions is bound to exist in any community. But such disagreement threatens to undermine vaccine justice insofar as the chosen vaccination strategy (and its proposed specification of vaccine justice) lacks public justification. Inclusive democratic deliberation about vaccine justice is a good mechanism for tackling such moral disagreement. By ...
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Would choosing the second chamber by sortition be an effective way to achieve a 50:50 balance between men and women? John Dryzek argues that the upper chamber – in Australia as in the UK, a deliberative forum – would be a good place to... more
Would choosing the second chamber by sortition be an effective way to achieve a 50:50 balance between men and women? John Dryzek argues that the upper chamber – in Australia as in the UK, a deliberative forum – would be a good place to start, and looks at ways to ensure women sitting in deliberative assemblies get an equal voice and hearing.
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Research Interests: Environmental Science, Climate Change, Environmental Studies, Global Governance, Climate change policy, and 15 moreCorporate Governance, Political Science, Governance, Environmental Management, Environmental Policy and Governance, Environmental Politics, Global Environmental Change, Environmental Sustainability, Global Environmental Governance, International Environmental Law, International Environmental Politics, Multidisciplinary, Anthropocene studies, Earth System Science, and Anthropocene(Corporate Governance, Political Science, Governance, Environmental Management, Environmental Policy and Governance, Environmental Politics, Global Environmental Change, Environmental Sustainability, Global Environmental Governance, International Environmental Law, International Environmental Politics, Multidisciplinary, Anthropocene studies, Earth System Science, and Anthropocene)
(Corporate Governance, Political Science, Governance, Environmental Management, Environmental Policy and Governance, Environmental Politics, Global Environmental Change, Environmental Sustainability, Global Environmental Governance, International Environmental Law, International Environmental Politics, Multidisciplinary, Anthropocene studies, Earth System Science, and Anthropocene)
Research Interests: Diversity, Environmental Studies, Corporate Governance, Political Science, Governance, and 15 moreJustice, Imagination, Democracy, Environmental Justice, Environmental Sustainability, Earth System Science, Agency, Inequality, Anticipation, Anthropocene, Alliance, Earth system governance, Elsevier, Earth system, and Adaptiveness
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Citizens can avoid polarization and make sound decisions
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Rhetoric can facilitate movement beyond impasse on whether and how to confront climate change, enabling more effective public reasoning. Our evidence comes from a small deliberative group that contained climate change deniers. We show how... more
Rhetoric can facilitate movement beyond impasse on whether and how to confront climate change, enabling more effective public reasoning. Our evidence comes from a small deliberative group that contained climate change deniers. We show how in this setting bridging rhetoric (capable of reaching those who do not share the speaker’s perspective) managed to bring deniers and others into accepting that particular greenhouse gas mitigation measures were in the range of acceptable policy choices – even as deniers continued to dispute the existence of anthropogenic climate change. What we observed drives home the need for rhetorical bridges in broader public debates on climate change.
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Global climate change is perceived to be one of the biggest challenges for international politics in the 21st century. This work seeks to fuse a global governance perspective together with different interpretive approaches, offering a... more
Global climate change is perceived to be one of the biggest challenges for international politics in the 21st century. This work seeks to fuse a global governance perspective together with different interpretive approaches, offering a novel way of looking at international climate politics. Equipped with a common interpretive tool-kit, the authors examine different issue-areas and excavate the contours of an overall pattern – the depoliticisation of climate governance. It is this concept which represents the overarching theme connecting the different contributions, addressing issues such as how the securitization of climate change conceals its socio-economic roots; how highly political decisions and value-judgements are couched in the terms of science; how the reframing of climate change as a matter of economic calculation and investment narrows the scope of political action; and how the prevailing concentration on technological solutions to climate change turns it into a mere administrative issue to be tackled by experts. Highlighting the depoliticisation of highly political issues provides a means to bring the political back into one of the most important issue areas of 21st century world politics. The editors have assembled a series of 14 interpretive inquiries into discourses of global climate governance which aim to flesh out an interpretive methodology, demonstrating the value it offers to those seeking to achieve a better understanding of global climate governance.
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This article introduces and develops the concept of 'communicative plenty' to capture the implications of the increasing volume of communication, both online and face-to-face, in contemporary democracies. Drawing on recent systems... more
This article introduces and develops the concept of 'communicative plenty' to capture the implications of the increasing volume of communication, both online and face-to-face, in contemporary democracies. Drawing on recent systems thinking in deliberative democracy, the article argues that communicative plenty can offer a viable context for large scale public deliberation provided that: i) the spaces for voice and expression are accompanied by sufficient spaces of reflection and listening; and that ii) collective decisions involve sequencing of first expression, then listening, and then reflection. To substantiate this proposal, two cases where conventional democratic practices were modified either formally or informally to promote greater listening and reflection are subjected to close empirical analysis. The analysis reveals that designing spaces of reflection and listening is a practical means to enhance public deliberation and so democracy, particularly in contexts vulnerable to an overload of expression and the democratic pathologies of communicative plenty.
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We reflect on the development of the field of deliberative democracy by discussing twelve key findings that capture a number of resolved issues in normative theory, conceptual clarification, and associated empirical results. We argue that... more
We reflect on the development of the field of deliberative democracy by discussing twelve key findings that capture a number of resolved issues in normative theory, conceptual clarification, and associated empirical results. We argue that these findings deserve to be more widely recognized, and viewed as a foundation for future practice and research. We draw on our own research and that of others in the field.