Deliberation, Participation and Democracy: Can the People Govern?

Political participation is falling and citizen alienation and cynicism is increasing. In response to evidence of this decline in democracy, a growing number of philosophers and political practitioners have advocated a more deliberative form of democracy. This volume brings together the first work of this kind by leading scholars in the US and Europe. The results of this work raise questions regarding the conception and practice of deliberative democracy. To address these questions, four of the leading philosophers of deliberative democracy contribute their commentaries on the groundbreaking empirical research.