The Real World of Deliberation

In recent years, deliberation or reasoned dialogue has moved to the forefront in contemporary democratic theory. So far, most of the literature on deliberation has a philosophical or theoretical orientation with empirical research being in its infancy. Moreover, there is also no systematic investigation of political institutions that might be favorable to deliberation as well as a dearth of measurement instruments that would allow to 'measure' the quality of deliberation. This book tries to narrow the empirical, institutional, and measurement gap in the study of deliberation. On the basis of parliamentary debates in Switzerland, the United States, and Germany, it analyzes the effects of institutional and issue contexts on the quality of deliberation. The analysis shows that consensus institutions, presidential systems, second chambers, non-publicity, and low issue polarization further deliberation, particularly by enhancing respectful exchanges among participants. Furthermore, when the favorable contexts combine, we can detect debates that in parts have features of ideal discourses.