Deliberative mini-publics: defining and designing

Modern systems of governance that have depoliticised political life, privatised public resources, outsourced service provision and so on have served to distance citizens from the loci of power. These developments and others have contributed to the ‘democratic malaise’ evident in many industrialised democracies today and are comprehensively analysed by the co-editors in the introduction. One response to this ‘malaise’ has been the creation of democratic innovations that aim to enhance (that is, widen and deepen) citizen participation in political decision making. The mini-public is one such innovation. Aiming to harness the views and ideas of citizens, mini-publics consist of groups of citizens that engage in facilitated deliberations on an issue and make public recommendations. Bridging the gap between deliberative democratic theory and practice, they have the potential to give citizens deeper levels of engagement at the agenda setting, decision-making, and implementation stages of political processes. They may therefore contribute to more innovative policy solutions and more legitimate politics, as those affected by the decision have an input. Mini-publics may also improve implementation strategies, enhance democratic skills, and political education. Their success in achieving some or any of these hinges on their design and their links to ‘empowered spaces’, that is the institutions and actors that make political decisions (Dryzek, 2010). Referring to a wide range of international examples, this chapter seeks to provide a definition of what is meant by a mini-public and critically examines both normatively and empirically the micro and macro design choices available to those involved in establishing them with regard to input, throughput, and output legitimacy

The UK has much to learn from the Irish constitutional convention

At its party conference, Labour called for a UK constitutional convention. What can be learned from the experiences of Ireland and its own convention? Clodagh Harris writes that whatever remit is chosen for the UK convention, it is necessary that its work is inclusive, well resourced, allocated sufficient time, open, and has a clearly defined timeline for governmental response if it is to achieve legitimacy

Best practices in professional development in graduate education

Analyses of professional development in political science education have traditionally focused on undergraduate students. However, changes in the postgraduate labor market as well as advances in the nature and delivery of postgraduate programs have required faculty to pay greater attention to professional development in graduate education (Listokin and McKeever 2011). It is recognized that the approaches, techniques and tools used in the professional development of undergraduate students may not be as well suited for graduate students in terms of preparing them for an academic career (Obst et al. 2010, p. 571), which requires developing a specialized skill set they will need as researchers, teachers and contributors to the faculty and the wider community (service). This chapter explores developments in the professionalization of graduate education with reference to best practices in North America and Europe. It focuses on the following developments in political science and international relations: doctoral education; teacher training; mentoring; and mobility, all of which can prepare a student for a future academic career. It also includes a discussion of the role played by professional associations in developing and supporting disciplinary best practice. Finally, it concludes with some recommendations for the future of graduate professional development programs. It is important to note that this chapter focuses primarily on developing graduates professional skills for the academic labor market rather than other forms of employment

Deliberative Democracy: Issues and Cases

Deliberative democracy, a theory of political legitimacy, argues citizens should be given a more central role in political processes, contending that collective decisions are legitimate to the extent that those subject to them have the right, opportunity and capacity to contribute to deliberations on them. It has been at the forefront of political theory in recent decades and has evolved theoretically, empirically and in praxis overtime

Polling ‘misses’ – can Q-methodology help? A case study of the Seanad referendum

Accurate information on public opinion is a necessary condition for the effective functioning of democracies. For Lasswell, the open interplay of public opinion with policy is the ‘distinguishing mark of popular rule’ [Lasswell, H. D. (1941). Democracy through public opinion. Menasha, WI: Banta]. Yet, despite its importance, there is a distinct gap in methods and tools to understand large volumes of public opinion statements on any issue. The 2013 referendum in Ireland on the abolition of the Seanad (Senate) was a prominent example of this gap. Opinion polls were perceived as misleading in suggesting that the referendum was going to pass. Aiming to address opinion noise, and the polarity suggested by opinion polls, we conducted an online study of subjectivity in the week before polling. Using Q-methodology and the stream of public opinion generated during the campaign, we identified three main perspectives on the issue of Seanad abolition. One perspective was in favour of abolition, two opposed the proposal. We conclude that Q-methodology could be used to support opinion polling and political communication by providing a supporting context of the range of social perspectives on the issue at hand

Bridging normative democratic theory and internet technologies: a proposal for scaling citizen policy deliberations

This article presents an experimental model for citizen deliberation that bridges the gap between developments in normative deliberative theory, and online participation and deliberation in practice. The Social Web for Inclusive and Transparent democracy (SOWIT) model is designed for integration into policy‐making processes. It is currently being developed in consultation with citizens, civil society organizations, and Councilors in an Irish local authority and will be implemented in 2014. Our approach is rooted in Dryzek and Niemeyer's (Dryzek and Niemeyer [2008]. American Political Science Review 102(4): 481–93) innovations in discursive representation and meta‐consensus as well as Bächtiger et al.'s (Bächtiger et al. [2010]. Journal of Political Philosophy 18: 32–63) sequential approach to deliberation. SOWIT pioneers a dynamic implementation of a meta‐consensus framework for structuring and incentivizing policy deliberations. In this article, we present the model, explain its normative rationale, and outline the experimental framework

‘Systematizing’ constitutional deliberation: the 2016–18 citizens’ assembly in Ireland

Ireland has become something of a trail-blazer in the use of deliberative methods in the process of constitutional review. It is the first case in which the process has been employed a second time: the Irish Citizens’ Assembly (2016–18) followed upon the Convention on the Constitution (2012–14). The creation of two mini-publics in quick succession and their significant role in supporting key referendums for constitutional change that followed (marriage equality in 2015 and abortion in 2018) suggests a degree of ‘systemization’ of deliberation in the Irish process of constitutional review. This report sets out the basic details of the most recent Citizens’ Assembly – how it was set up, its agenda, its manner of operation, and its outcomes. We conclude with a brief discussion of the recent Irish experience of constitutional mini-publics and the degree to which they speak to a process of systematizing deliberation in the Irish policy process

Political science in Ireland in the early 21st century

Although political science in Ireland got off to an earlier start than almost anywhere else (with a first chair appearing in 1855, and the oldest current established chair dating back to 1908), it has faced the same challenges as those encountered elsewhere in Europe. These include a difficulty in establishing autonomy in relation to adjacent disciplines, and a problem in maintaining its own integrity given the diversity of its subfields. Nevertheless, the discipline was able to record steady progress from the 1960s onwards, as the number of staff members grew and the infrastructural support base improved. Especially since the economic crisis that began in 2008, however, the discipline has come under stress, with many of the best qualified and most mobile young academics leaving for posts abroad in a context of domestic austerity. The discipline has survived this development, though, and has been significantly reinforced by links at European level. These have helped in the development of the political science curriculum (notably, as a consequence of the “Bologna process”), and in encouraging research (an area in which the European Consortium for Political Research played a big role). The capacity of the discipline to grow and thrive, and to survive budgetary setbacks, has been assisted by its popularity with students and its continuing relevance to policy maker

Perceived discourse quality in the Irish Citizens' Assembly deliberations on abortion

Working PaperThis paper contributes to a growing interest in process related approaches in the study of deliberative mini-publics. Its focus is on the perceived quality of deliberation in the Irish Citizens’ Assembly’s discussions on Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion, which occurred over the course of five weekends of meetings from late 2016 through to the spring of 2017, culminating in recommendations for a referendum to remove Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion. This paper makes use of survey data to examine the Citizens’ Assembly’s members’ perceptions of the quality of the deliberative process. We find that, by one measure of discourse quality (individual access to the conversation), levels of satisfaction were greatest among the less educated. Over time the levels of discourse quality (again by this measure) rose particularly among the minority of Assembly members who were ‘pro-life’

The effects of mixed membership in a deliberative forum: the Irish Constitutional Convention of 2012-2014

The Constitutional Convention was established by the Irish government in 2012. It was tasked with making recommendations on a number of constitutional reform proposals. As a mini-public, its membership was a mix of 66 citizens (randomly selected) and 33 politicians (self-selected). Its recommendations were debated on the floor of the Irish parliament with three of them leading to constitutional referendums; other recommendations are in the process of being implemented. This article uses data gathered during and after the operation of the Convention to examine this real-world example of a mixed-membership mini-public. The focus is on how the inclusion of politicians may have impacted on the Convention's mode of operation and/or its outcomes. We find little impact in terms of its operation (e.g. no evidence that politicians dominated the discussions). There is evidence of a slight liberal bias among the politician membership, but this had little effect on the outcomes