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Democratic Innovations, Deliberation and Public Policy

Module description

This module offers you a chance to learn about a variety of ‘democratic innovations’ – forms of non-electoral political participation which involve citizens deliberating on topics to inform political decision-making. Interest in such innovations, rooted in theories of deliberative democracy, has grown in the context of disaffection with ‘formal’ representative politics, political polarisation and the rise of populism. They have recently been called for by protest groups such as XR as a means of generating bold action on climate change. We discuss the theory and practice of deliberative democratic institutions, and their role within broader political processes, using examples from around the world. There are no pro-requisites or co-requisites for this module.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The main objective of the module is to equip you with knowledge of deliberative democratic innovations, their theoretical roots, their potential and their limitations. You will develop a critical understanding of deliberative democracy, and its applications. We will assess democratic innovations from the perspective of participants who have engaged in them, as well as those who have facilitated, commissioned and organised them. We examine what impact these innovations have had on policy, using examples from policy fields such as environmental policy, abortion, equal marriage and electoral reform.  We explore how inclusive these democratic innovations really are, whether they live up to claims about representativeness, as well as questions surrounding their legitimacy and impact. We also consider how these innovations can be coupled with systems of representative politics and issues of how we assess deliberative ‘quality’.  We focus on a variety of ‘mini publics’, such as citizen’s assemblies, citizen’s juries, village assemblies, deliberative polls, and participatory budgeting, as well as online deliberation, interest in which has increased significantly since the covid pandemic. The module convenor will draw on her own experience in conducting and researching deliberative public engagement.

The module will provide you with both practical and theoretical understanding of these forms of democratic innovation which will be invaluable if you are considering a career in public policy, politics, local or central government or the NGO sector where these approaches to public participation are increasingly used. You will also develop in-depth case specific knowledge of a particular innovation of your choosing, and will practice and enhance your own deliberation skills using moderated online discussion forums during the course.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. discuss the rationale and arguments that advocates of deliberative democracy make for democratic innovations and the counter arguments by sceptics
• 2. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a variety of democratic innovations, including their purpose, strengths and limitations and application in different contexts
• 3. articulate key principles in the design of effective deliberative processes
• 4. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the role of the ways in which deliberative democratic innovations are integrated into political systems and used to inform public policy

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. apply concepts, theories and methods used in the study of politics to the analysis of political ideas, institutions and practices
• 6. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of different political institutions; the nature and distribution of power relationships within and between them; the social, economic, historical and cultural contexts within which they operate

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. construct reasoned argument, synthesise relevant information and exercise critical judgement
• 8. gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information from a variety of sources

Syllabus plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:

• Theoretical Foundations and Roots of Deliberative Democracy and Democratic innovations
• Varieties of democratic innovation, online and offline, at different levels: local, national, global
• Democratic innovations in a wider context of political disaffection/ anti-politics
• Can deliberation help to reduce polarisation and improve political discourse?
• Case Studies and examples from around the world
• Coupling Deliberation with Representative and Direct Democracy
• Exploring deliberative ideals. How to we assess deliberative ‘quality’?
• Inclusivity and equality issues: who speaks during deliberations? Who takes part?
• Critical perspectives: exploring the legitimacy of democratic innovations
• The impact of democratic innovations: policy impact, impact on participants

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Text books/key books

• Escobar, O. and Elstub, S.   Handbook of Democratic Innovation and Governance. Cheltenham, U.K. and Northampton, M.A., USA: Edward Elgar.
• Geissel, B. and Newton, K. (eds), Evaluating Democratic Innovations. Curing the Democratic Malaise?, London and New York: Routledge.
• Smith, G. (2009) Democratic Innovations: Designing Institutions for Citizen Participation.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sample of articles 

• Andersen, V. N. and Hansen, K. M. (2007). How Deliberation Makes Better Citizens: The Danish Deliberative Poll on the Euro.  European Journal of Political Research, 46: 531–56.
• Böker, M. (2017). Justification, Critique and Deliberative Legitimacy: The Limits of Mini-Publics.  Contemporary Political Theory, 16: 19–40.
• Böker, M. and S. Elstub (2015), ‘The possibility of critical mini-publics: Realpolitik and normative cycles in democratic theory’, Representation.
• Avritzer, L. 2012. ‘The different designs of public participation in Brazil’, Critical Policy Studies. 6:2 113-127
• Dryzek, J. S., Bächtiger, A., & Milewicz, K. (2011). ‘Toward a deliberative global citizens’ assembly.’ Global Policy, 2(1), 33-42.
• Dryzek, J.S., Bächtiger, A., Chambers, S., Cohen, J., Druckman, J.N., Felicetti, A. Warren, M.E. 2019 ‘The crisis of democracy and the science of deliberation’. Science, 363(6432),1144-46.
• Fishkin, J. (2020). Cristina Lafont’s Challenge to Deliberative Minipublics.  Journal of Deliberative Democracy,  16 (2), 56–62. DOI:  http://doi.org/10.16997/jdd.394
• Goodin, R.E. & Dryzek, J.S. 2006. ‘Deliberative Impacts: The Macro-Political Uptake of Mini-Publics’.  Politics & Society, 34: 2, 219-244. 
• Grönlund, K., Herne, K., and Setälä, M. (2015). Does Enclave Deliberation Polarize Opinions?  Political Behavior , 37: 995–1020.
• Hendriks, C. M. (2016). Coupling Citizens and Elites in Deliberative Systems: The Role of Institutional Design.  European Journal of Political Research, 55: 43–60.
• Lafont, C. (2015). Deliberation, Participation and Democratic Legitimacy: Should Deliberative Minipublics Shape Public Policy?  Journal of Political Philosophy, 23: 40–63.
• Lafont, C. 2017. Can Democracy be Deliberative & Participatory? The Democratic Case for Political Uses of Mini-Publics, Daedalus   , 146:3, 85-105. https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/full/10.1162/DAED_a_00449#fn9
• Parthasarathy, Ramya; Rao, Vijayendra. 2017.  Deliberative Democracy in India. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7995. World Bank, Washington, DC. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/26245 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
• Strandberg, K. and Grönlund, K. (2018) ‘Online deliberation’, In Andre Bächtiger, John S. Dryzek, Jane Mansbridge, and Mark Warren (Eds), The Oxford Handbook of deliberative Democracy.

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• Participedia: https://participedia.net/
• Citizen Lab: https://www.citizenlab.co/
• Involve: https://www.involve.org.uk/resources/knowledge-base/what/public-engagement-public-policy-making
• Relevant podcasts and short videos of democratic innovations in practice

Key words search

Deliberation, public policy, deliberative democracy, democratic innovation, public participation