Journal Article•
Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy
About: This article is published in Review of Metaphysics.The article was published on 1997-02-01 and is currently open access. It has received 2568 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Democracy.
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01 Jan 2006
2,797 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors develop a framework for understanding the range of institutional possibilities for public participation, including who participates, how participants communicate with one another and make decisions together, and how discussions are linked with policy or public action.
Abstract: The multifaceted challenges of contemporary governance demand a complex account of the ways in which those who are subject to laws and policies should participate in making them. This article develops a framework for understanding the range of institutional possibilities for public participation. Mechanisms of participation vary along three important dimensions: who participates, how participants communicate with one another and make decisions together, and how discussions are linked with policy or public action. These three dimensions constitute a space in which any particular mechanism of participation can be located. Different regions of this institutional design space are more and less suited to addressing important problems of democratic governance such as legitimacy, justice, and effective administration.
1,526 citations
01 Dec 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the current debate about the nature of democracy and discuss the main theses of the approach called "deliberative democracy" in its two main versions, the one put forward by John Rawls, and the other one put forth by Jurgen Habermas.
Abstract: This article examines the current debate about the nature of democracy and discusses the main theses of the approach called 'deliberative democracy' in its two main versions, the one put forward by John Rawls, and the other one put forwardby Jurgen Habermas. While agreeing with them as regards to the need to develop a more of democracy than the one offered by the 'aggregative' model, I submit that they do not provide an adequate understanding of the main task of democracy. No doubt, by stating that democracy cannot be reduced to a question of procedures to mediate among conflicting interests, deliberative democrats defend a conception of democracy that presents a richer conception of politics. But, albeit in a different way thanthe view they criticize, their vision is also a rationalist one which leaves aside the crucial role played by 'passions' and collective forms of identifications in the field of politics. Moreover, in their attempt to reconcile the liberal tradition with the democratic one, deliberative democrats tend to erase the tension that exist between liberalism and democracy and they are therefore unable to come to terms with the conflictual nature of democratic politics. The main thesis that I put forward in this article is that democratic theory needs to acknowledge the ineradicability of antagonism and the impossibility of achieving a fully inclusive rational consensus. I argue that a model of democracy in terms of 'agonistic pluralism' can help us to better envisage the main challenge facing democratic politics today: how to create democratic forms of identifications that will contribute to mobilize passions towards democratic designs.;
1,338 citations
TL;DR: Public diplomacy, as the diplomacy of the public, not of the government, intervenes in this global public sphere, laying the ground for traditional forms of diplomacy to act beyond the strict negotiation of power relationships by building on shared... as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The public sphere is the space of communication of ideas and projects that emerge from society and are addressed to the decision makers in the institutions of society. The global civil society is the organized expression of the values and interests of society. The relationships between government and civil society and their interaction via the public sphere define the polity of society. The process of globalization has shifted the debate from the national domain to the global debate, prompting the emergence of a global civil society and of ad hoc forms of global governance. Accordingly, the public sphere as the space of debate on public affairs has also shifted from the national to the global and is increasingly constructed around global communication networks. Public diplomacy, as the diplomacy of the public, not of the government, intervenes in this global public sphere, laying the ground for traditional forms of diplomacy to act beyond the strict negotiation of power relationships by building on shared...
936 citations
Book•
05 Oct 2012
TL;DR: Tweets and the Streets as mentioned in this paper examines the relationship between the rise of social media and the emergence of new forms of protest, arguing that activists' use of Twitter and Facebook does not fit with the image of a "cyberspace" detached from physical reality.
Abstract: Tweets and the Streets analyses the culture of the new protest movements of the 21st century. From the Arab Spring to the "indignados" protests in Spain and the Occupy movement, Paolo Gerbaudo examines the relationship between the rise of social media and the emergence of new forms of protest. Gerbaudo argues that activists' use of Twitter and Facebook does not fit with the image of a "cyberspace" detached from physical reality. Instead, social media is used as part of a project of re-appropriation of public space, which involves the assembling of different groups around "occupied" places such as Cairo's Tahrir Square or New York's Zuccotti Park. An exciting and invigorating journey through the new politics of dissent, Tweets and the Streets points both to the creative possibilities and to the risks of political evanescence which new media brings to the contemporary protest experience.
911 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a reconstruction of Aristotle's arguments concerning the content of persuasive public speech and its role in political deliberation, and discuss areas of agreement and disagreement between Aristotle and the two most influential representatives of rational/deliberative and agonistic models of the public sphere.
Abstract: This paper argues that Aristotle's Rhetoric is a valuable source for contemporary theorists of the public sphere. Thus far, these scholars have failed to recognize that Aristotle's discussion of the art of rhetoric contains important elements of both rational/deliberative and agonistic models of the public sphere. Aristotle recognizes that persuasive political speech is reasonable, passionate, and reflective of the character of the speaker. After presenting a reconstruction of Aristotle's arguments concerning (1) the content of persuasive public speech and (2) its role in political deliberation, I discuss areas of agreement and disagreement between Aristotle and the two most influential representatives of rational/deliberative and agonistic models of the public sphere: Jurgen Habermas and Hannah Arendt. The paper's conclusion refers to the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s use of rhetorical speech in order to illustrate the advantages of Aristotelian persuasion over rational/deliberative and agonistic for...
77 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a concentric containment policy for dealing with political extremism starting from the deliberative model of democracy is developed, which is particularly well suiteable in the context of political extremism.
Abstract: In this article we develop a concentric containment policy for dealing with political extremism starting from the deliberative model of democracy. This model of democracy is particularly well suite...
76 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the question of European identity by drawing on the analytical categories associated with the politics of recognition and by applying these to different conceptions of the EU qua polity and conclude that although the picture is complex, the EU appears to be in the process of developing a post-national type of identity.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to explore the question of European identity. The EU consists of Member States whose national identities are well entrenched. The question of a European identity must therefore be seen in relation to entrenched national identities. Does a European identity have to supplant the national ones? Can it supplement or transform these? How much of a transformation is necessary? Will a European identity be a novel, post‐national type of identity? The article explores the question of a European identity by drawing on the analytical categories associated with the politics of recognition and by applying these to different conceptions of the EU qua polity. Four different options are explored and the conclusion is that ‐ although the picture is complex ‐ the EU appears to be in the process of developing a post‐national type of identity.
76 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that correctly designed ICT-enabled services have a deliberative democratic potential, but this does not overshadow the fact that the services existing today only to a limited extent support processes of social learning through rational argumentation, the core idea in Habermas’ discursive model of deliberative democracy.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to derive a critical standard against which institutional arrangements of e-government can be assessed in terms of democratic potential from Jurgen Habermas’s discursive model of deliberative democracy, and to illustrate how this standard can be applied through an assessment of the information and communication technology-(ICT) enabled services found on Swedish municipal websites. The assessment focuses on the potential of the ICT infrastructure to support deliberative democratic ideals and is based on a quantitative exploration of all 289 Swedish municipal websites. The results suggest that, if correctly designed, ICT-enabled services have a deliberative democratic potential. But this does not overshadow the fact that the services existing today only support to a limited extent processes of social learning through rational argumentation, the core idea in Habermas’s discursive model of deliberative democracy.
76 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a comparison between different types of news platforms that differ in terms of design (a news forum, news websites, and Facebook news pages) shows that the news forum yields the most rational and respectful debate.
Abstract: Ever since the Internet has provided easy access to online discussion, advocates of deliberative democracy have hoped for an improved public sphere. This article investigates which particular platform features promote deliberative debate online. We assume that moderation, asynchronous discussion, a well-defined topic, and the availability of information enhance the level of deliberative quality of user comments. A comparison between different types of news platforms that differ in terms of design (a news forum, news websites, and Facebook news pages) shows that deliberation (measured as rationality, reciprocity, respect, and constructiveness) differs significantly between platforms. We find that the news forum yields the most rational and respectful debate. While user comments on news websites are only slightly less deliberative, Facebook comments perform poorly in terms of deliberative quality. However, comments left on news websites and on Facebook show particularly high levels of reciprocity among users.
75 citations