Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative Processes

Governments seeking to address declining trust, increasing polarisation, and greater complexity in government policy have increasingly turned to democratic innovations to engage citizens. For practitioners and academics alike, the term ‘deliberative wave’ has become shorthand to describe the increas...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Joanna Massie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Westminster Press 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Deliberative Democracy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1603/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849389620341506048
author Joanna Massie
author_facet Joanna Massie
author_sort Joanna Massie
collection DOAJ
description Governments seeking to address declining trust, increasing polarisation, and greater complexity in government policy have increasingly turned to democratic innovations to engage citizens. For practitioners and academics alike, the term ‘deliberative wave’ has become shorthand to describe the increased popularity of these tools and the emergence of a field of study that has the potential to revitalise citizen-state relationships. The practical handbooks reviewed here present a mosaic of tools, resources, and lessons from experience to ensure the successful commissioning, organisation, and facilitation of deliberative mini-publics (DMPs). They each provide valuable insights based on years of expertise developed running processes with publics (Enabling National Initiatives, Facilitating Deliberation) or consolidating a vast array of international experience (Assembling an Assembly, Innovative Citizen Participation, Evaluation Guidelines, Eight Ways to Institutionalise). In this review I reflect on definitions of deliberation; why these guides argue DMPs are important; and the connection between deliberative democracy theory and practice.  
format Article
id doaj-art-fe6a782d33fb4e888ddb561f6241adb0
institution Kabale University
issn 2634-0488
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher University of Westminster Press
record_format Article
series Journal of Deliberative Democracy
spelling doaj-art-fe6a782d33fb4e888ddb561f6241adb02025-08-20T03:41:54ZengUniversity of Westminster PressJournal of Deliberative Democracy2634-04882025-01-0121110.16997/jdd.1603Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative ProcessesJoanna Massiehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6293-2589Governments seeking to address declining trust, increasing polarisation, and greater complexity in government policy have increasingly turned to democratic innovations to engage citizens. For practitioners and academics alike, the term ‘deliberative wave’ has become shorthand to describe the increased popularity of these tools and the emergence of a field of study that has the potential to revitalise citizen-state relationships. The practical handbooks reviewed here present a mosaic of tools, resources, and lessons from experience to ensure the successful commissioning, organisation, and facilitation of deliberative mini-publics (DMPs). They each provide valuable insights based on years of expertise developed running processes with publics (Enabling National Initiatives, Facilitating Deliberation) or consolidating a vast array of international experience (Assembling an Assembly, Innovative Citizen Participation, Evaluation Guidelines, Eight Ways to Institutionalise). In this review I reflect on definitions of deliberation; why these guides argue DMPs are important; and the connection between deliberative democracy theory and practice.  https://delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1603/handbookdeliberative processdemocratic innovations
spellingShingle Joanna Massie
Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative Processes
Journal of Deliberative Democracy
handbook
deliberative process
democratic innovations
title Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative Processes
title_full Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative Processes
title_fullStr Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative Processes
title_full_unstemmed Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative Processes
title_short Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Handbooks on Commissioning, Facilitating, and Evaluating Deliberative Processes
title_sort deliberative democracy in practice handbooks on commissioning facilitating and evaluating deliberative processes
topic handbook
deliberative process
democratic innovations
url https://delibdemjournal.org/article/id/1603/
work_keys_str_mv AT joannamassie deliberativedemocracyinpracticehandbooksoncommissioningfacilitatingandevaluatingdeliberativeprocesses