Designing Deliberative Democracy
The British Columbia Citizens' Assembly
1st Edition
Published on 2. April 2008
978-0-511-38113-3 (ISBN)
Description
Is it possible to advance democracy by empowering ordinary citizens to make key decisions about the design of political institutions and policies? In 2004, the government of British Columbia embarked on a bold democratic experiment: it created an assembly of 160 near-randomly selected citizens to assess and redesign the province's electoral system. The British Columbia Citizens' Assembly represents the first time a citizen body has had the power to reform fundamental political institutions. It was an innovative gamble that has been replicated elsewhere in Canada and in the Netherlands, and is gaining increasing attention in Europe as a democratic alternative for constitution-making and constitutional reform. In the USA, advocates view citizens' assemblies as a means for reforming referendum processes. This book investigates the citizens' assembly in British Columbia to test and refine key propositions of democratic theory and practice.
Reviews / Votes
'The British Columbia Citizens' Assembly is a pivotal event in the history of deliberative democracy. The distinguished contributors to this book do the Assembly full justice with close analysis, insightful commentary and critical scrutiny, drawing lessons applicable to democratic reformers everywhere.' John S. Dryzek, Australian National University 'British Columbia's Citizens Assembly was a unique and important experiment in citizen political participation and democratic reform. Designing Deliberative Democracy provides a very rich account of the process from the perspective of the participants, the general public and democratic theory. This book presents convincing evidence of the quality of the CA's deliberations and draws out the important implications for our theories of deliberative democracy.' Russell J. Dalton, University of California, IrvineMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
20 Tables, unspecified; 4 Line drawings, unspecified
File size
1,62 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-511-38113-3 (9780511381133)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Mark E. Warren | Hilary Pearse
Designing Deliberative Democracy
The British Columbia Citizens' Assembly
Book
02/2008
Cambridge University Press
€129.30
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Mark E. Warren holds the Harold and Dorrie Merilees Chair for the Study of Democracy and is Academic Director of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at the University of British Columbia. Hilary Pearse is a Ph.D. candidate and Commonwealth Scholar in the Department of Political Science at the University of British Columbia.
Content
Introduction: democratic renewal and deliberative democracy Mark E. Warren and Hilary Pearse; 1. Who should govern who governs? The role of citizens in reforming the electoral system Dennis F. Thompson; 2. Citizen representatives Mark E. Warren; 3. Institutional design and citizen deliberation Hilary Pearse; 4. Agenda setting in deliberative forums: expert influence and citizen autonomy in the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly Amy Lang; 5. Descriptive representation in the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly Michael Rabinder James; 6. Do citizens' assemblies make reasoned choices? Andre Blais, R. Kenneth Carty and Patrick Fournier; 7. Communicative rationality in the Citizens' Assembly and referendum process R. S. Ratner; 8. Deliberation, information and trust: the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly as agenda setter Fred Cutler, Richard Johnston, R. Kenneth Carty, Andre Blais and Patrick Fournier; Conclusion: the citizens' assembly model John Ferejohn.
