Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy

Deliberative democracy emerged a few decades ago as a theory on how to deepen democracy. Its success has been so great that many scholars took the important step of transforming the theory into a method to study a variety of experiences of deliberation in North and South. This book is an attempt to systematize thirty-one different methods employed by scholars to study deliberative democracy. The result is the most complete book to date on the state of the art of both the theory and methods of deliberative democracy. * Leonardo Avritzer, Professor of Political Science, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil *
This book is a must-have for anyone studying deliberative democracy. It brings together the crème de la crème scholars in the field, who explain and discuss well-known as well as novel theoretical and empirical approaches. It provides a methodological overview urgently needed by scholars, students and practitioners. In recent years, we can observe huge forward advances in research on deliberation and on democratic innovations in general. Needed are rigorous research and evidence-based insights, which enable us to develop convincing scenarios for the future of democracy. This book shows the way. * Brigitte Geissel, Professor of Political Science and Sociology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany *
This volume is a much-needed collective endeavour with impressive results. It offers a plural and reflexive analysis of research and methods in deliberative democracy. It includes more than thirty methods and shows different ways in which researchers produce knowledge and seek to enhance the role of meaningful political communication in our societies. * Adrian Gurza Lavalle, Professor of Political Science, University of São Paulo, Brazil *
With a scope as massive and diverse as democracy itself, the book captures the dynamic nature of the field and shows how practitioners' attempts to make deliberation more inclusive, agile, and influential have been accompanied by researchers' attempts to gauge progress in all these directions. With its commendable mixture of ambition and humility, this book will help us conceptualize, construct, and assess many future democratic innovations. * Matt Leighninger, Head of Democracy Innovation, National Conference on Citizenship, USA *
This book offers the most compelling and comprehensive overview of methods currently found in the toolbox of empirical and theoretical scholars within deliberative democracy. Bringing together an excellent set of scholars from different disciplinary and methodological backgrounds, it is the go-to resource for anyone interested in the study of deliberative democracy. * Sofie Marien, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Leuven, Belgium *
This book provides an in-depth and well-rounded exploration of methods and theories of deliberation. For scholars whose aim is to provide insight on the causes and consequences of deliberations, this book is essential reading. * Jennifer Stromer-Galley, Professor in the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University *