Participatory storylines and their influence on deliberative forums

For all the recent discussion on the virtues and vices of public deliberation, surprisingly little attention has been given to how deliberative procedures actually operate in different policy contexts. This article takes up this task with a specific focus on how deliberative designs such as citizens' juries and consensus conferences interface with their participatory context. The concept of the participatory storyline is developed to describe the competing narratives associated with a policy issue on who constitutes the public” and how “they” should be represented and involved in the policy process. An analysis of two Australian cases reveals how existing participatory storylines can productively or destructively influence deliberative forums. The empirical research suggests that a more productive deliberative procedure is one that supports or “speaks to” existing narratives on what constitutes public participation. Under these conditions key policy actors are more likely to engage in the deliberative process and endorse its outcomes. Some suggestions are provided for how practitioners can better anticipate the way a deliberative forum might interface with its participatory context.     

The epistemic benefits of deliberative democracy

One instrumental defense of democracy is epistemic in character: Insofar as there is a correct answer to be found to some question being politically addressed, democratic decision-making procedures are more likely to find it than any other. But that assumes that the correct answer appears on the agenda in the first place, and that the agenda is not so cluttered that it gets lost there. Two-stage deliberative procedures can help with both problems, first by populating the agenda and then by winnowing it. A good example of both occurring is found in the detailed records now available of top secret ExComm deliberations surrounding the US government’s response to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.     

Civil society organizations and deliberative policy making: interpreting environmental controversies in the deliberative system

This paper argues that while research on deliberative democracy is burgeoning, there is relatively little attention paid to the contributions of civil society. Based on an interpretive conceptualization of deliberative democracy, this paper draws attention to the ways in which civil society organizations employ “storylines” about environmental issues and deliberative processes to shape deliberative policy making. It asks, how do civil society organizations promote storylines in the deliberative system to change policy? How do storylines constitute policy and policy-making processes in the deliberative system? I answer these questions through an empirical analysis of two environmental controversies in the USA: environmental justice in New Mexico and coalbed methane development in Wyoming. Findings indicate that civil society organizations used storylines in both cases to shift the dynamics of the deliberative system and to advance their own interpretations of environmental problems and policy-making processes. Specifically, they used storylines (1) to set the agenda on environmental hazards, (2) to construct the form of public deliberation, changing the rules of the game, (3) to construct the content of public deliberation, shaping meanings related to environmental policy, and (4) to couple/align forums, arenas and courts across the system. These findings suggest that promoting storylines through accommodation and selection processes can be an important mechanism for shaping policy meanings and for improving deliberative quality, although these effects are tempered by discursive and material forms of power, and the competition among alternative storylines.     

Coupling citizens and elites in deliberative systems: The role of institutional design

A significant shortcoming in contemporary deliberative systems is that citizens are disconnected from various elite sites of public deliberation. This article explores the concept of ‘coupling’ as a means to better link citizens and elites in deliberative systems. The notion of ‘designed coupling’ is developed to describe institutional mechanisms for linking otherwise disconnected deliberative sites. To consider whether it is possible and indeed desirable to use institutional design to couple different sites in a deliberative system, the article draws on insights from a case study in which a mini‐public was formally integrated into a legislative committee. The empirical study finds that it is not only feasible to couple mini‐publics to legislative committees, but when combined, the democratic and deliberative capacity of both institutions can be strengthened. To be effective, ‘designed coupling’ requires more than establishing institutional connections; it also requires that actors to step outside their comfort zone to build new relationships and engage in new communicative spaces with different sets of ideas, actors and rules. This can be facilitated by institutional design, but it also requires leaders and champions who are well‐placed to encourage actors to think differently.     

革命、国家与情感——一项有关国家权力情感维度的理论综述

中国共产党建党并建国是一个并不十分漫长但却极其复杂的过程。以往的研究大多关注于共产党权力运用的组织技术、文化策略和意识形态问题。本文认为情感是一种通过组织技术被动员的资源,也是因特定话语而生产的体验。共产党构建的国家形象是情感化的具有人情味的,而非冷冰冰的暴力机器。文章认为通过对制度化的行政部门和公务人员情感的研究可以探索国家权力运作的情感侧面,以此深化对共产党革命及共产主义文明的认识。     

Explaining non‐participation in deliberative mini‐publics

This article investigates citizens’ refusal to take part in participatory and deliberative mechanisms. An increasing number of scholars and political actors support the development of mini‐publics – that is, deliberative forums with randomly selected lay citizens. It is often argued that such innovations are a key ingredient to curing the democratic malaise of contemporary political regimes because they provide an appropriate means to achieve inclusiveness and well considered judgment. Nevertheless, real‐life experience shows that the majority of citizens refuse the invitation when they are recruited. This raises a challenging question for the development of a more inclusive democracy: Why do citizens decline to participate in mini‐publics? This article addresses this issue through a qualitative analysis of the perspectives of those who have declined to participate in three mini‐publics: the G1000, the G100 and the Climate Citizens Parliament. Drawing on in‐depth interviews, six explanatory logics of non‐participation are distinguished: concentration on the private sphere; internal political inefficacy; public meeting avoidance; conflict of schedule; political alienation; and mini‐public's lack of impact on the political system. This shows that the reluctance to take part in mini‐publics is rooted in the way individuals conceive their own roles, abilities and capacities in the public sphere, as well as in the perceived output of such democratic innovations.     

The dimensions of Fianna fail rule in Ireland

Politics in the Irish Republic derives its special party orientation from a bitterly‐contested civil war waged relatively early in the nation‐state's history. In Ireland, as in America, the loser in the civil war has turned out to be the most successful political party. Fianna Fail is a national coalition of regions, interests, and classes which has rarely been out of power thanks to the professionalism of its electoral machine and its understanding of the importance of localism in Irish politics. Until recently, Irish political expectations were relatively low. Today, in the wake of major cultural and economic change, nascent class conflict may challenge the conservative status quo.     

The shaping of collective values through deliberative democracy: An empirical study from New York's North Country

Participatory planning and policy analysis has gained increasing attention in recent years because of its potential to improve the knowledge base for policy design (substantive benefits), increase the likelihood of stakeholder compliance and support (instrumental benefits), and strengthen the democratic legitimacy of public policies (normative benefits). Deliberation among stakeholders is considered essential for participatory policy analysis, representing a democratic process for clarifying the particular as well as the collective goals and values as well as the potential impacts of alternative policies. This study examines the effects of democratic deliberation on participants' viewpoints of the policy domain (the local food system), based on two-and-a-half day participatory planning events in each of six rural counties in northern New York. Participant viewpoints were assessed several weeks before and after these events, using Q methodology. The results reveal three major viewpoints, representing concerns for social justice, the viability of conventional agriculture, and the potential environmental and social externalities associated with conventional agriculture. The substance of these viewpoints remain unchanged before and after the deliberative events, but the salience of the conventional agriculture viewpoint increased and the salience of the social justice and alternative agriculture viewpoints decreased significantly, even among those participants who most clearly defined the latter two viewpoints. These findings, together with an analysis of the action agendas emerging from these planning events, suggest that local deliberative processes may produce outcomes that are neither fair nor efficient and that reflect the values and interests of certain stakeholders more than others, even in the absence of overt conflict. Moreover, it appears that such processes may cause some participants to alter their viewpoints in ways that appear contrary to their values and interests as expressed prior to the deliberative event. The implications for participatory policy analysis are explored.     

论中国发展协商民主的条件和路径选择

协商民主是20世纪80年代以来在西方兴起的一种新的民主理论范式和实践形态。改革开放以来,我国经济、社会、文化、制度、实践与科技等方面的发展使我国已具备了发展协商民主的基础和条件,但民主传统缺失、选举民主不发达、公民社会发育不成熟和社会资本缺失等诸多不利因素却制约着协商民主在我国的发展,这就决定了我国在现阶段还不能完全引入和发展西方式的协商民主,只能走具有中国特色的有限的协商民主发展之路。     

The paradox of deliberative democracy: The National Action Committee on the Status of Women and Canada's policy on reproductive technology

This article explores the relationship between inclusive and deliberative social movement organisations (SMOs) and state authorities. Three perspectives are presented. The first perspective argues in favour of an autonomous public sphere, in which SMOs establish only indirect relations with state authorities. This perspective suggests that direct relations are unnecessary to exert influence on policy choices. In contrast, the second perspective advocates an inclusive state, invested with SMOs. While direct cooperation guarantees policy influence, it does not necessarily lead to co-optation on the part of SMOs. The third perspective is primarily concerned with the impact of deliberative and strategic ideas and practices on power relations within SMOs. It argues that state authorities have expectations toward the public sphere that sometimes feed into the tension within SMOs between the proponents of deliberation and those in favour of strategic action. When this organisational strife reaches a critical point, the capacity of a SMO to contribute to both deliberation and policy-making are seriously undermined. Our empirical analysis of the contribution of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) on the issue of assisted reproductive technology (ART) in Canada during a period of 15 years provides strong support for this third perspective.     

Are innovative, participatory and deliberative procedures in policy making democratic and effective?

Abstract.  The overall project aims to establish a dialogue between normative democratic theory and research on policy formulation and implementation. This introductory article first notes the growth of various participatory and deliberative procedures in policy making, portrays the context of this growth and justifies the cases selected. It then presents the conceptual framework used for the study of these procedures, which mainly draws on participatory and deliberative democratic theory and the literature on the shift from 'government' to 'governance'. Based on this conceptual framework, the article focuses on four research questions the authors consider particularly important for the assessment of the contribution of the devices under scrutiny to democratic and effective decision making: questions of openness and access (input-legitimacy); questions regarding the quality of deliberation (throughput); questions of efficiency and effectiveness (output-legitimacy); and the issue of their insertion into the public space (questions of transparency and accountability).     

探析马克思主义中国化的历史必然性的三重维度

马克思主义中国化是一个不断创新、永无止境的过程。无论是从马克思主义自身所特有的与时俱进的内在品质的理论维度,还是从中国革命、建设和改革过程的客观需要的实践维度,以及创造中国先进文化必然要求的文化维度,来探讨分析实现马克思主义中国化的历史必然性,都必须坚持实事求是的基本原则,着眼于正确理解马克思主义的精神实质,立足于实践发展过程中出现的新情况和新问题。只有这样,才能不断推进马克思主义中国化的进程,用不断创新的理论成果指导不断发展变化的社会实践。     

The Shield of Heracles: Multiple streams and the emotional endowment effect

What factors explain the persistence of emotion in public policy? Applying the multiple streams framework, it is hypothesised in this article that the more intense the fear and the longer it persists under high salience, task unfamiliarity and complexity, and inconsistent preferences, the less likely it is for policy to change. The study examines the Greek attempt to block international recognition of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1990–1993) and finds the power to build coalitions through emotional arousal that in the short run helps reframe losses and paradoxically undermines political support in the long run. Illuminating the emotional endowment effect within the logic of appropriateness, the article concludes that policy is made under certain conditions on the basis of validating emotions.     

婴儿情绪的发展:从基本情绪到情绪图式

人类生而便具备情绪能力,这些情绪能力称为基本情绪,它们先于认知而发生,有其独立的功能。它们会随着相应的认知与行为发展,形成一种动态的情绪——认知相互作用,这便为情绪图式。情绪图式可以作为一种文化基因被传播和复制,它的作用与认知的发展中认知图式所起的作用有许多共同之处。另外时常循环的一些相关的情绪图式可能被解释为气质或者人格特质。     

When citizen deliberation enters real politics: how politicians and stakeholders envision the place of a deliberative mini-public in political decision-making

Policy Sciences - In the wake of the increasing use of deliberative citizen assemblies in the public sphere, this article studies how traditional policy actors receive a mini-public as...     

《1844年手稿》中人的两个历史维度的思考

人的肉体是感性活动不断内化、积淀的产物。人类的肉体决不同于动物的肉体,因为人类的身体里面内化和积淀了人类社会几百万年的发展史。因而人的生命体是积聚着全部生产劳动成果的具有社会历史属性的产物。因为物的最一般的属性是感性对象性,人的肉体只有在人化的自然中,在使用和消费凝聚着人的本质力量的产品时,人的沉睡的本质能力才会被重新唤醒。