Deliberative Impacts: The Macro-Political Uptake of Mini-Publics

TLDR

Democratic theorists view deliberative innovations—citizen panels, consensus conferences, planning cells, and deliberative polls—as central to democratization, yet exposing problems and failures is all too easy. The authors chart how mini‑publics may impact the macro‑political world. Impact can arise through policy making, policy process uptake, informing public debates, market‑testing proposals, legitimizing policies, building confidence and constituencies, enabling popular oversight, and resisting co‑option. The authors highlight successful cases across each of these dimensions.

Abstract

Democratic theorists often place deliberative innovations such as citizen's panels, consensus conferences, planning cells, and deliberative polls at the center of their hopes for deliberative democratization. In light of experience to date, the authors chart the ways in which such mini-publics may have an impact in the “macro” world of politics. Impact may come in the form of actually making policy, being taken up in the policy process, informing public debates, market-testing of proposals, legitimation of public policies, building confidence and constituencies for policies, popular oversight, and resisting co-option. Exposing problems and failures is all too easy. The authors highlight cases of success on each of these dimensions.