•  727
    Concept stretching. The case of deliberation
    European Political Science 7. 2008.
    Sartori (1970) warned a long time ago of the danger of concept stretching for effective and cumulative theory building. Such concept stretching has happened with regard to deliberation, which has become a very faddish term. For theoretically well-founded empirical research it is better conceptually to distinguish clearly between strategic bargaining and deliberation, although in the empirical political world the two concepts are usually heavily intertwined. Keywords deliberation; concept stretch…Read more
  •  505
    Deliberation across Deep Divisions. Transformative Moments
    with Maria Clara Jaramillo, Rousiley C. M. Maia, and Simona Mameli
    Cambridge University Press. 2017.
    From the local level to international politics, deliberation helps to increase mutual understanding and trust, in order to arrive at political decisions of high epistemic value and legitimacy. This book gives deliberation a dynamic dimension, analysing how levels of deliberation rise and fall in group discussions, and introducing the concept of 'deliberative transformative moments' and how they can be applied to deeply divided societies, where deliberation is most needed but also most difficult …Read more
  •  377
    Deliberative Transformative Moments. A New Concept as Amendment to the Discourse Quality Index
    with Maria Clara Jaramillo
    Journal of Public Deliberation 10 (2): 1-15. 2014.
    Deliberative Transformative Moments (DTM) is a new concept that serves as an amendment to the DQI. With this new concept it is easier to get at the quick give-and-take of discussions of small groups of ordinary citizens. As an illustration, we apply the concept to discussions about the peace process among Colombian ex-combatants, ex-guerrillas and ex-paramilitaries. Specifically, we show how personal stories can transform a discussion from a low to a high level of deliberation and how they can h…Read more
  •  309
    Learning to deliberate (edited book)
    Irish Center for Gerontology. 2012.
    To deliberate is a skill like any other that can be learned. The paper shows how schools can teach deliberative skills.
  •  277
    Disentangling Diversity in Deliberative Democracy: Competing Theories, Their Blind Spots and Complementarities
    with André Bächtiger, Simon Niemeyer, Michael Neblo, and Marco R. Steenbergen
    Journal of Political Philosophy 18 (1): 32-63. 2009.
    IN the last decade deliberative democracy has developed rapidly from a “theoretical statement” into a “working theory.”1 Scholars and practitioners have launched numerous initiatives designed to put deliberative democracy into practice, ranging from deliberative polling to citizen summits.2 Some even advocate deliberation as a new “revolutionary now.”3 Deliberative democracy has also experienced the beginning of an empirical turn, making significant gains as an empirical (or positive) political …Read more
  •  216
    How far can we go with deliberative research at dangerous places?
    Journal of Public Deliberation 24 (1): 1-7. 2016.
    Questions of research ethics are raised when deliberative research is done in war situations.
  •  124
    Raison et émotion dans la délibération
    Archives de Philosophie 74 (2): 259-274. 2011.
    Dans la formulation classique habermassienne du modèle délibératif, les arguments doivent être justifiés d’une façon rationnelle, reliant logiquement des raisons à des conclusions. Sur la base de données empiriques, il est montré que les histoires personnelles ont également un rôle à jouer pour une bonne délibération, créant l’empathie à l’égard des besoins des autres. Plus généralement, les émotions ne devraient pas être exclues de la délibération.
  •  30
    Disentangling Diversity in Deliberative Democracy: Competing Theories, Their Blind Spots and Complementarities
    with André Bächtinger, Simon Niemeyer, Michael Neblo, and Marco R. Steenbergen
    Journal of Political Philosophy 18 (1): 32-63. 2009.
  •  10
    Deliberative democracy is now an influential approach to the study of democracy and political behaviour. Its key proposition is that, in politics, it is not only power that counts, but good discussions and arguments too. This book examines the interplay between the normative and empirical aspects of the deliberative model of democracy. Jürg Steiner presents the main normative controversies in the literature on deliberation, including self-interest, civility and truthfulness. He then summarizes t…Read more
  •  9
    Deliberative Politics in Action. Analysing Parliamentary Discourse
    with André Bächtiger, Markus Spörndli, and Marco R. Steenbergen
    Cambridge University Press. 2005.
    'Deliberative politics' refers to the role of conversation and arguments in politics. Until recently discussion of deliberative politics took place almost exclusively among political philosophers, but many questions raised in this philosophical discussion cry out for empirical investigation. This book provides the first extended empirical study of deliberative politics, addressing, in particular, questions of the preconditions and consequences of high level deliberation. Using parliamentary deba…Read more
  •  7
    Deliberation and media
    Archives de Philosophie du Droit 54 193-205. 2011.
    La littérature philosophique sur le modèle de la démocratie déliberative insiste sur la qualité déliberative dont peuvent faire preuve les média. C’est seulement à cette condition que l’on peut avoir une sphère publique où une pluralité d’opinions peuvent émerger. Des recherches empiriques révèlent néanmoins que les média présentent la politique comme un jeu de divertissement avec des gagnants et des perdants, bien loin de l’idéal délibératif d’un échange réfléchi d’arguments. Étant donné la pre…Read more
  •  5
    Deliberation across Deeply Divided Societies. Transformative Moments
    with Maria Clara Jaramillo, Rousiley C. M. Maia, and Simona Mameli
    Cambridge University Press. 2017.
    From the local level to international politics, deliberation helps to increase mutual understanding and trust, in order to arrive at political decisions of high epistemic value and legitimacy. This book gives deliberation a dynamic dimension, analysing how levels of deliberation rise and fall in group discussions, and introducing the concept of 'deliberative transformative moments' and how they can be applied to deeply divided societies, where deliberation is most needed but also most difficult …Read more
  •  1
    On the basis of Swiss decision cases it is investigated to what extent politicians are guided by their conscience about the common good or political self interest.