When does deliberation begin?

Abstract

Political deliberation involves both internal reflection and public discussion. The former might be far more important than implied by deliberative democrats' heavy emphasis the discursive component. Analysis of the deliberations of a citizen's jury on an Australian environmental issue shows jurors' attitudes changing more in response to the 'informational' phase of the jury proceedings involving a large degree of 'deliberation within' than during the formal 'discussion' phase. Various ways can be imagined for evoking internal reflection of that sort, even in mass political settings. Show more