Title: The politics of public deliberation : citizen engagement and interest advocacy /
Authors: Hendriks, Carolyn M.; Hendriks, Carolyn.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan,
Year: 2011
Subjects: POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Democracy.; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Advocacy.; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civics & Citizenship.; Deliberative democracy Case studies.; Political participation Case studies.; Group decision making Case studies.; Pressure groups Case studies.; Demokratie.; Interessenvertretung.; Politische Beteiligung.; Politische Institution.; Communication studies.; Deliberative democracy; Demokratie; Group decision making; Interessenvertretung; Political participation; POLITICAL SCIENCE Political Freedom & Security Civil Rights.; POLITICAL SCIENCE Political Freedom & Security Human Rights.; Political structures: democracy.; Politics and Government.; Politische Beteiligung; Politische Institution; Pressure groups; Public administration.
Abstract: Innovative democratic institutions have been developed to engage citizens directly in deliberations about public policy. All around the globe ordinary people are being invited to contribute their considered views on complex policy issues to decision makers. The Politics of Public Deliberation explores how these novel approaches to citizen engagement work alongside the array of political institutions and practices that are not based on participatory and deliberative norms. In particular, it looks at how such approaches are received and accommodated by key political actors who are more accustomed to interest-based modes of political communication, such as pressure groups, corporations, associations and experts. It takes a critical look at the relationship between the ideals of public deliberation and the political world of interest advocacy, where partisanship, power, and interests abound. Drawing on the experiences of four citizen engagement projects, the book offers rare insights into the political world of public deliberation, and the reasons why partisan actors engage in or reject processes of citizen engagement.
Contents: Public deliberation in the context of interest advocacy -- Worlds apart or connected? : interest advocacy and public deliberation -- The features and principles of citizens' forums -- CDL case : deliberation wasted -- GeneTech case : deliberation digested -- Consumer case : deliberation over-protected -- Diagnostics case : deliberation tested -- The challenges of citizens' forums -- Strategic uses of public deliberation -- Accommodating interest advocacy in public deliberation.