The Deliberative Turn in Democratic Theory

Abstract

The book proposes an analytical map of developments in deliberative democracy (DD) that departs from previous attempts to explain them by using alleged "turns" (epistemic turn, empirical turn, etc.), or "generational shifts". This analytical approach clarifies what is at stake each time new “conceptual innovations” are proposed. The analysis of the various conceptual innovations proposed is then connected to the possible "institutional solutions" devised to boost the legitimacy of current liberal democratic regimes. The scope of the book is not merely academic, devoted to tracking the progress of a subdisciplinary field in democratic theory, but include assessment of the public relevance of the academic debates developed in that subfield. The aim of the book is finally that of challenging the methodological tenets employed by deliberative democracy authors working within the four conceptual areas identified, and the vision of democracy they uphold. Developments in DD have been dominated by liberal perspectives subscribing to the minimalist notion of democracy defended by political economists. In challenging this minimalist notion of democracy, the book proposes an alternative way of seeing democracy.