Deliberation, Democracy, and Civic Forums Improving Equality and Publicity [Paperback]

This book focuses on how to improve equal and public participation in a range of innovative citizen forums that could revitalize democracy around the world.Deliberation, Democracy, and Civic Forums focuses on new forums that convene citizens to recommend or enact policy, which could revitalize democracy around the world. However, skeptics ask whether citizens can talk on equal terms in these forums and whether these forums can communicate public opinion better than polls and elections do. The authors propose innovative solutions to the challenges of equality and publicity in civic forums, grounded in new theory, a careful review of research and practice in the field, and several original studies. This book will be of interest to political science and communication scholars, as well as practitioners and sponsors of civic engagement, public consultation, public management, and deliberative and participatory democracy.Deliberation, Democracy, and Civic Forums focuses on new forums that convene citizens to recommend or enact policy, which could revitalize democracy around the world. However, skeptics ask whether citizens can talk on equal terms in these forums and whether these forums can communicate public opinion better than polls and elections do. The authors propose innovative solutions to the challenges of equality and publicity in civic forums, grounded in new theory, a careful review of research and practice in the field, and several original studies. This book will be of interest to political science and communication scholars, as well as practitioners and sponsors of civic engagement, public consultation, public management, and deliberative and participatory democracy.Innovative forums that integrate citizen deliberation into policy making are revitalizing democracy in many places around the world. Yet controversy abounds over whether these forums ought to be seen as authentic sources of public opinion and how they should fit with existing political institutionlB