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Deliberative democracy is an embattled political project. It is accused of political naiveté for it only talks about power without taking power. Others, meanwhile, take issue with deliberative democracy's dominance in the field of democratic theory and practice. An industry of consultants, facilitators, and experts of deliberative forums has grown over the past decades, suggesting that the field has benefited from a broken political system. This book is inspired by these accusations. It argues that deliberative democracy's tense relationship with power is not a pathology but constitutive of deliberative practice. Deliberative democracy gains relevance when it navigates complex relations of power in modern societies, learns from its mistakes, remains epistemically humble but not politically meek. These arguments are situated in three facets of deliberative democracy--norms, forums, and systems--and concludes by applying these ideas to three of the most pressing issues in contemporary times--post-truth politics, populism, and illiberalism.--

Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Deliberative Democracy: A Conceptual Overview; 2. Deliberative Democracy and Constitution-making; 3. Deliberative Democracy, Public Sphere and the search for Alternative politics in India: Gandhian Contributions; 4. Indian Democracy in a Changing World: A Case of Civil society Intervention; 5. Rights of the Urban poor in Delhi and Deliberative Democracy: Understanding the Aam Aadmi Party Experience; 6. Mainstream and Indian Perspectives on Decentralization, participation and Democracy

In this important collection of writings, leading legal and political thinkers address a wide array of issues that confront societies undergoing a transition to democratic rule. Bridging the gap between theory and practice in international human rights law and policy, the contributors continue discussions that were begun with the late Argentine philosopher-lawyer Carlos Santiago Nino, then extend those conversations in new directions inspired by their own and Nino's work.The book focuses on some of the key questions that confront the international human rights movement today. What is the moral justification for the concept and content of universal human rights? What is the relationship among nation-building, constitutionalism, and democracy? What are the political implications for a conception of universal human rights? What is the relationship between moral principles and political practice? How should a society confront what Kant called radical evil? And how does a successor regime justly and practically hold a prior regime accountable for gross violations of human rights?

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Praise for Power in Deliberative Democracy -- Contents -- About the Authors -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Why Deliberation and Power? -- Defining Deliberation -- Political Aspiration -- Reasoned Discussion -- What Counts as Reason-Giving? -- What Are the Components of Deliberation? -- Political Life -- Defining Power -- A Matter of Degree -- A Matter of Practice -- A Matter of Contestation -- Three Core Challenges for Deliberative Democracy -- Theoretical Challenge -- Empirical Challenge -- Political Challenge -- References -- Chapter 2: Norms -- Deliberation, Power, and Legitimacy -- Rejection of Coercive Power -- Agential View -- Structural View -- Epistemic View -- Promotion of Productive Power -- Too Powerless, Too Powerful: Critiques of Deliberative Theory -- Realpolitik -- Feminist and Cultural Critiques -- Navigating the Ambivalence: A Theory of Deliberative Power -- Brute Force -- Legitimate Coercive Power -- Ideal Deliberative Outcomes -- Illegitimate Deliberative Outcomes -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 3: Forums -- Deliberative Forums as Deliberative Democracy in Action -- How Mini-Publics Redistribute Power -- Inequalities of Voice -- Asymmetries in Information and Knowledge -- Inequalities in Formal Authority -- How Powerful Ought Mini-publics Be? -- Critical View -- Celebratory View -- Ambivalent View -- On Mini-Publics' Noumenal Power -- Commercialisation of Mini-Publics -- Ritualisation of Mini-Publics -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 4: Systems -- The Systemic (Re)Turn -- Functionalist Definition -- Normative Reorientation -- Deliberative Systems from the Lens of Power -- Normative Recalibration -- Non-Deliberative Acts Should Confront the Comfortable -- A Subversive Deliberative System -- Empirical Instantiations of Power -- Will Formation and Decision-Making.

This text advances a 'naturalized' normative theory of deliberative democracy; one that is informed by an empirically-grounded analysis of public deliberation in naturalistic settings and in unadulterated form, and goes on to provide institutional design proposals for how to improve it.

"Democratic theory's deliberative turn has hit a dead end. It is unable to find a good way to scale up its small-scale, formally-organized deliberative mini-publics to include the entire community. Some turn to deliberative systems for a way out, but none have found a credible way to deliberatively involve the citizenry at large. Deliberation Naturalized offers an alternative way out-one we have been using all along. The key sites of democratic deliberation are everyday political conversations among people networked across the community. Informal networked deliberation is how all citizens deliberate together, directly or indirectly. That is how public opinion emerges in civil society. Networked deliberation satisfies the classic deliberative desiderata of inclusion, equality, and reciprocity reasonably well, albeit differently than standard mini-publics. Reconceptualizing democratic deliberation in this way highlights some real threats to the networked mode of deliberative democracy, such as polarization, message repetition, and pluralistic ignorance. Deliberation Naturalized assesses the extent of each of those threats and proposes ways of protecting real-existing deliberative democracy against them. By focusing on the mechanisms underpinning every democratic deliberation among citizens, Deliberation Naturalized offers a truly novel approach to deliberative democracy"--