Shirley Niemeyer
Biographic Data
| ID | 322996 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Shirley Niemeyer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Shirley |
| FAMILY NAME | Niemeyer |
| SIGNATURE | NIEMEYER S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian National University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3048-5697 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 36 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1128 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 36 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1986 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 15 |
Expressive Epistemic Injustice: Definition, Measurement, and Deliberative Cure
Epistemic injustice means that knowledge relevant to collective decisions gets discounted, thus inflicting harm on disadvantaged groups. The most familiar kinds (established by Fricker 2007) are testimonial (dismissing arguments because of the social characteristics of the speaker) and hermeneutical (lack of collective interpretive resources to make sense of oppression). We develop the idea of expressive epistemic justice, which exists when socia…
Deliberative reason and the effect of minipublic configurations
In exploring deliberative dynamics within mini-publics, it has been observed that initial group-building activities play a crucial role in enhancing deliberative reasoning. However, the influence of liberal democratic practices such as voting mechanisms and the inclusion of strategic or representative stakeholders, on deliberative processes is not well understood. This study undertakes a comparative configurational meta-analysis (CCMA) of 22 mini…
How to constitute global citizens' forums: Key selection principles
Once imagined as a theoretical possibility, global citizen deliberation is now beginning to appear in the practice of governance. How should global citizens' forums be constituted? A largely unexamined consensus on random selection as the ideal method to locate citizen participants has fractured as its limitations become more apparent. We undertake a systematic comparative examination of random selection and its alternatives, emphasizing, respect…
How Deliberation Happens: Enabling Deliberative Reason
We show, against skeptics, that however latent it may be in everyday life, the ability to reason effectively about politics can readily be activated when conditions are right. We justify a definition of deliberative reason, then develop and apply a Deliberative Reason Index (DRI) to analysis of 19 deliberative forums. DRI increases over the course of deliberation in the vast majority of cases, but the extent of this increase depends upon enabling…
Deliberative Reason Index
The Deliberative Reasoning Index (DRI) is a method for assessing the positions formed by a group taking part in deliberation and their relationship to deliberative ideals of reasoning. The method is informed by a theory of reasoning as intrinsically a group process, and so it is best understood as an emergent group-level property. DRI captures the extent that a group coheres towards a shared understanding of the issue and takes seriously all rele…
Deliberative democracy in the age of serial crisis
What is the state of deliberative democracy in the age of serial crisis? This survey article provides a descriptive and reflective assessment of recent developments in the field in the light of a political context in which there is growing incivility, political polarization, normalization of disinformation and the growing appeal of finding simplistic solutions to complex problems. We describe deliberative democracy as a field of research that has…
Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy
Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy is the first book that brings together a wide range of methods used in the study of deliberative democracy. It offers thirty-one different methods that scholars use for theorizing, measuring, exploring, or applying deliberative democracy. Each chapter presents one method by explaining its utility in deliberative democracy research and providing guidance on its application by drawing on examples from prev…
Psychological Mechanisms of Deliberative Transformation: The Role of Group Identity
Democratic deliberation has been shown to lead to shifts in people’s preferences for particular issues. The psychological mechanisms that underpin such shifts are not well understood. Against the backdrop of a deliberative forum we examined participants’ preferences for various types of political systems, how these preferences changed as deliberations proceeded and how the final preferences were associated with different levels of inclusiveness o…
The crisis of democracy and the science of deliberation
Citizens can avoid polarization and make sound decisions
Deliberative democracy and climate governance
Twelve Key Findings in Deliberative Democracy Research
This essay reflects on the development of the field of deliberative democracy by discussing twelve key findings that capture a number of resolved issues in normative theory, conceptual clarification, and associated empirical results. We argue that these findings deserve to be more widely recognized and viewed as a foundation for future practice and research. We draw on our own research and that of others in the field
Adaptation policy and community discourse: Risk, Vulnerability, and Just Transformation
How can public engagement assist in the development of just processes and outcomes in adaptation discourse and policymaking? A concern with justice is at the center of thinking about adaptation that is not only resilient, but also public, engaging, and transformative. Theoretically, the intersection of adaptation, transformation, and environmental and climate justice is examined, before exploring the specific concerns and normative foundations fo…
Improving deliberative participation: Connecting Mini-Publics to Deliberative Systems
This article argues for the assessment of deliberative mini-publics as a dynamic part of a wider deliberative system. The approach draws primarily on Dryzek’s (2009) deliberative capacity building framework, which describes the democratic process as ideally involving authentic deliberation, inclusiveness in the deliberative process, and consequentiality or deliberation’s influence on decisions as well as positive impact on the system. This approa…
Democracy and Climate Change: What Can Deliberative Democracy Contribute
This paper argues that deliberative democracy is best placed to meet the challenge that climate change poses to systems of governance, although the task of implementing it is challenging. Deliberative democracy extends on the basic idea of democracy by emphasising the way in which citizens engage with issues, requiring reflection on all relevant dimensions. Where climate change is easily crowded‐out in the prevailing nature of political debate, d…
“What sceptics believe”: The effects of information and deliberation on climate change scepticism
Scepticism about climate change now appears a pervasive social phenomenon. Research to date has examined the different forms that scepticism can take, from outright denial to general uncertainty. Less is known about what climate sceptics value and believe beyond their climate change doubt, as well as how “entrenched” such beliefs are. In response, this paper discusses research into public reactions to projected climate change in the Australian Ca…
Appreciative and contestatory inquiry in deliberative forums: Can group hugs be dangerous
The project of deliberative democracy is increasingly pursued through designed mini-publics. But exactly how they are designed proves crucial in determining whether or not mini-publics can deliver on their promise. This article explores the role of appreciative inquiry – a version of deliberative design that is gaining ground. In this approach, participants are primed to develop an ‘appreciative gaze’ by focusing the discussion on what already wo…
Reaching Out to Overcome Political Apathy: Building Participatory Capacity through Deliberative Engagement
A common objection against deliberative democracy relates to the impression that citizens, in general, are unwilling to participate in democratic politics. We contribute to the growing literature that challenges this impression by analyzing the discursive profile of citizens that participate in deliberation. By discursive profile, we refer to participants' own perceived role in the democratic process and their articulated motivations for joining …
On the use of imagery for climate change engagement
Julia Gillard's Citizens' Assembly Proposal for Australia: A Deliberative Democratic Analysis
Many governments have embraced the rhetoric of inclusive citizen engagement. Greater public involvement promises to strengthen democratic institutions and improve the quality of policy decisions and services. How do these aspirations sit alongside the reality of Australian federal politics? This article investigates the responses of elite policy actors to the Gillard government's proposal to conduct a citizens’ assembly on climate change in 2010.…
Public responses to climate change: The role of deliberation in building capacity for adaptive action
The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation: Empirical Lessons from Mini-Publics
This article investigates the prospects of deliberative democracy through the analysis of small-scale deliberative events, or mini-publics, using empirical methods to understand the process of preference transformation. Evidence from two case studies suggests that deliberation corrects preexisting distortions of public will caused by either active manipulation or passive overemphasis on symbolically potent issues. Deliberation corrected these dis…
Disentangling Diversity in Deliberative Democracy: Competing Theories, Their Blind Spots and Complementarities
Informed consent in biobank research: A deliberative approach to the debate
Evidence of a Housing Decision Chain in Rural Community Vitality
The purpose of this research was to explore and explain the role housing plays in rural community vitality. Community vitality refers to economic strength and social well-being. In spring 2002 we collected primary interview data from informants in 134 small rural communities in nine north-central states and identified related secondary data from the U.S. census. We developed a structural-equation-path model, which supported a 'housing decision ch…
Discursive Representation
Democracy can entail the representation of discourses as well as persons or groups. We explain and advocate discursive representation; explore its justifications, advantages, and problems; and show how it can be accomplished in practice. This practice can involve the selection of discursive representatives to a formal Chamber of Discourses and more informal processes grounded in the broader public sphere. Discursive representation supports many a…
Discursive Representation
Democracy can entail the representation of discourses as well as persons or groups. We explain and advocate discursive representation; explore its justifications, advantages, and problems; and show how it can be accomplished in practice. This practice can involve the selection of discursive representatives to a formal Chamber of Discourses and more informal processes grounded in the broader public sphere. Discursive representation supports many a…
Disentangling Diversity in Deliberative Democracy: Competing Theories, Their Blind Spots and Complementarities
Reconciling Pluralism and Consensus as Political Ideals
While consensus is often taken to be the ideal way to secure political legitimacy, a more robust pluralism has many defenders too. We attempt to reconcile arguments for pluralism and consensus. Pluralism ought to be accepted and valued at the simple level of values, beliefs, and preferences. Pluralism at this level can nevertheless coexist with normative, epistemic, and/or preference meta‐consensus, all of which have qualities that should attract…
Twelve Key Findings in Deliberative Democracy Research
This essay reflects on the development of the field of deliberative democracy by discussing twelve key findings that capture a number of resolved issues in normative theory, conceptual clarification, and associated empirical results. We argue that these findings deserve to be more widely recognized and viewed as a foundation for future practice and research. We draw on our own research and that of others in the field
The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation: Empirical Lessons from Mini-Publics
This article investigates the prospects of deliberative democracy through the analysis of small-scale deliberative events, or mini-publics, using empirical methods to understand the process of preference transformation. Evidence from two case studies suggests that deliberation corrects preexisting distortions of public will caused by either active manipulation or passive overemphasis on symbolically potent issues. Deliberation corrected these dis…
On the use of imagery for climate change engagement
When Does Deliberation Begin? Internal Reflection versus Public Discussion in Deliberative Democracy
Political deliberation involves both internal reflection and public discussion. The former might be far more important than implied by deliberative democrats' heavy emphasis on 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 ‘information’ phase of the jury proceedings, involving a large degree of ‘deliberation within’, than du…
The Ends of Deliberation: Meta‐consensus and Inter‐subjective Rationality as Ideal Outcomes
Normative deliberative theory has contributed much to an understanding of ideal procedural standards, but there is considerable uncertainty regarding the appropriate nature of desired deliberative outcomes. In this paper we identify two inter‐related concepts of meta‐consensus and inter‐subjective rationality as outcomes that an authentic deliberative process ought to produce. Importantly, these deliberative ends are consistent with ideal deliber…
Improving deliberative participation: Connecting Mini-Publics to Deliberative Systems
This article argues for the assessment of deliberative mini-publics as a dynamic part of a wider deliberative system. The approach draws primarily on Dryzek’s (2009) deliberative capacity building framework, which describes the democratic process as ideally involving authentic deliberation, inclusiveness in the deliberative process, and consequentiality or deliberation’s influence on decisions as well as positive impact on the system. This approa…
How Deliberation Happens: Enabling Deliberative Reason
We show, against skeptics, that however latent it may be in everyday life, the ability to reason effectively about politics can readily be activated when conditions are right. We justify a definition of deliberative reason, then develop and apply a Deliberative Reason Index (DRI) to analysis of 19 deliberative forums. DRI increases over the course of deliberation in the vast majority of cases, but the extent of this increase depends upon enabling…
Public responses to climate change: The role of deliberation in building capacity for adaptive action
Deliberative Democracy: An Introduction1
Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy
Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy is the first book that brings together a wide range of methods used in the study of deliberative democracy. It offers thirty-one different methods that scholars use for theorizing, measuring, exploring, or applying deliberative democracy. Each chapter presents one method by explaining its utility in deliberative democracy research and providing guidance on its application by drawing on examples from prev…
Adaptation policy and community discourse: Risk, Vulnerability, and Just Transformation
How can public engagement assist in the development of just processes and outcomes in adaptation discourse and policymaking? A concern with justice is at the center of thinking about adaptation that is not only resilient, but also public, engaging, and transformative. Theoretically, the intersection of adaptation, transformation, and environmental and climate justice is examined, before exploring the specific concerns and normative foundations fo…
Deliberation in the Wilderness: Displacing Symbolic Politics
The environmental benefits of deliberative democracy are increasingly cited, but not well understood. Nor are the processes involved in arriving at deliberated policy preferences in contrast to those under the status quo. Analysis of the Far North Queensland Citizens' Jury (FNQCJ) reveals that the difference reflects as much a move away from a non-deliberative status quo as toward a deliberative ideal. Before deliberation, symbolic arguments prof…
Deliberative democracy in the age of serial crisis
What is the state of deliberative democracy in the age of serial crisis? This survey article provides a descriptive and reflective assessment of recent developments in the field in the light of a political context in which there is growing incivility, political polarization, normalization of disinformation and the growing appeal of finding simplistic solutions to complex problems. We describe deliberative democracy as a field of research that has…
Julia Gillard's Citizens' Assembly Proposal for Australia: A Deliberative Democratic Analysis
Many governments have embraced the rhetoric of inclusive citizen engagement. Greater public involvement promises to strengthen democratic institutions and improve the quality of policy decisions and services. How do these aspirations sit alongside the reality of Australian federal politics? This article investigates the responses of elite policy actors to the Gillard government's proposal to conduct a citizens’ assembly on climate change in 2010.…
Reaching Out to Overcome Political Apathy: Building Participatory Capacity through Deliberative Engagement
A common objection against deliberative democracy relates to the impression that citizens, in general, are unwilling to participate in democratic politics. We contribute to the growing literature that challenges this impression by analyzing the discursive profile of citizens that participate in deliberation. By discursive profile, we refer to participants' own perceived role in the democratic process and their articulated motivations for joining …
Deliberative democracy and climate governance
Informed consent in biobank research: A deliberative approach to the debate
The Development of Environmental Administration in Queensland and Western Australia: Why are they Different
Western Australia and Queensland are often seen as the most developmentalist states in the Australian federation, largely because they remained less developed for longer and have seen much mineral and agricultural development in the latter part of the twentieth century. Developmentalism is usually seen as anathema to a commitment to environmental policy, which most states have taken on in response to environmentalism in the same period, yet these…
Appreciative and contestatory inquiry in deliberative forums: Can group hugs be dangerous
The project of deliberative democracy is increasingly pursued through designed mini-publics. But exactly how they are designed proves crucial in determining whether or not mini-publics can deliver on their promise. This article explores the role of appreciative inquiry – a version of deliberative design that is gaining ground. In this approach, participants are primed to develop an ‘appreciative gaze’ by focusing the discussion on what already wo…
Evidence of a Housing Decision Chain in Rural Community Vitality
The purpose of this research was to explore and explain the role housing plays in rural community vitality. Community vitality refers to economic strength and social well-being. In spring 2002 we collected primary interview data from informants in 134 small rural communities in nine north-central states and identified related secondary data from the U.S. census. We developed a structural-equation-path model, which supported a 'housing decision ch…
Expressive Epistemic Injustice: Definition, Measurement, and Deliberative Cure
Epistemic injustice means that knowledge relevant to collective decisions gets discounted, thus inflicting harm on disadvantaged groups. The most familiar kinds (established by Fricker 2007) are testimonial (dismissing arguments because of the social characteristics of the speaker) and hermeneutical (lack of collective interpretive resources to make sense of oppression). We develop the idea of expressive epistemic justice, which exists when socia…
When Place Moves: Case Study of a Homeless Shelter
Few investigations have focused on the homeless person’s understanding of what home and place mean. Most of the research has considered home as a residence and the meaning of home or place to homeowners. The goal of this case study was to explore the meaning of home, house, and place among homeless persons frequenting a daytime shelter before and after a move of the shelter to another location. Most clients and staff appeared to quickly adjust to…
A Research Note on: Economic and Psychological Constraints in Household Energy Conservation
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relative contributions of a number of the determinants of the propensity to engage in energy-conserving behavior. The analysis is based on data from about 200 households in five small cities in Iowa. The key findings of the paper are that resource constraints act as barriers to having an energy-efficient dwelling, but that expression of a propensity to improve the efficiency of that dwelling is constrai…
Work at Home: Conflict and Compromise on the Use of Space
This is a pilot study that examines the potential effects of home-based businesses (HBB) on space use, housing satisfaction, and housing adjustment or adaptation. Factors affecting the mix of HBB and family activities were measured by means of a mailed survey. From the 40 interviewed, 29 returned the survey; a response rate of 73 percent. All respondents were women from nonmetropolitan areas. The businesses were apparel, crafts, and home-fumishin…
Radon Publication Information: Impact on Readers’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Intentions
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer (National Research Council, 1998). The purpose of this preliminary study is to determine the effectiveness of a radon informational publication in increasing knowledge, changing attitudes about radon, and developing intentions to take action. Female homeowners in a Midwestern university community participated in a study to determine their existing knowledge level about radon, and their willingness …
The Development of Environmental Administration in Queensland and Western Australia: Why are they Different
Western Australia and Queensland are often seen as the most developmentalist states in the Australian federation, largely because they remained less developed for longer and have seen much mineral and agricultural development in the latter part of the twentieth century. Developmentalism is usually seen as anathema to a commitment to environmental policy, which most states have taken on in response to environmentalism in the same period, yet these…
When Does Deliberation Begin? Internal Reflection versus Public Discussion in Deliberative Democracy
Political deliberation involves both internal reflection and public discussion. The former might be far more important than implied by deliberative democrats' heavy emphasis on 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 ‘information’ phase of the jury proceedings, involving a large degree of ‘deliberation within’, than du…
Health risk communication and amplification: Learning from the MMR vaccination controversy
Immunisation is the cornerstone of childhood disease prevention. In this context the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccination (MMR) has proved a world-wide success, although in the UK it has been at the centre of public controversy since 1998. Through the media, the public domain has witnessed contestation among expert views about the relative risks associated with the diseases vs. the potential side-effects of the vaccination. Attainment …
When Place Moves: Case Study of a Homeless Shelter
Few investigations have focused on the homeless person’s understanding of what home and place mean. Most of the research has considered home as a residence and the meaning of home or place to homeowners. The goal of this case study was to explore the meaning of home, house, and place among homeless persons frequenting a daytime shelter before and after a move of the shelter to another location. Most clients and staff appeared to quickly adjust to…
Deliberation in the Wilderness: Displacing Symbolic Politics
The environmental benefits of deliberative democracy are increasingly cited, but not well understood. Nor are the processes involved in arriving at deliberated policy preferences in contrast to those under the status quo. Analysis of the Far North Queensland Citizens' Jury (FNQCJ) reveals that the difference reflects as much a move away from a non-deliberative status quo as toward a deliberative ideal. Before deliberation, symbolic arguments prof…
Reconciling Pluralism and Consensus as Political Ideals
While consensus is often taken to be the ideal way to secure political legitimacy, a more robust pluralism has many defenders too. We attempt to reconcile arguments for pluralism and consensus. Pluralism ought to be accepted and valued at the simple level of values, beliefs, and preferences. Pluralism at this level can nevertheless coexist with normative, epistemic, and/or preference meta‐consensus, all of which have qualities that should attract…
The Ends of Deliberation: Meta‐consensus and Inter‐subjective Rationality as Ideal Outcomes
Normative deliberative theory has contributed much to an understanding of ideal procedural standards, but there is considerable uncertainty regarding the appropriate nature of desired deliberative outcomes. In this paper we identify two inter‐related concepts of meta‐consensus and inter‐subjective rationality as outcomes that an authentic deliberative process ought to produce. Importantly, these deliberative ends are consistent with ideal deliber…
Deliberative Democracy: An Introduction1
Discursive Representation
Democracy can entail the representation of discourses as well as persons or groups. We explain and advocate discursive representation; explore its justifications, advantages, and problems; and show how it can be accomplished in practice. This practice can involve the selection of discursive representatives to a formal Chamber of Discourses and more informal processes grounded in the broader public sphere. Discursive representation supports many a…
Disentangling Diversity in Deliberative Democracy: Competing Theories, Their Blind Spots and Complementarities
Informed consent in biobank research: A deliberative approach to the debate
Evidence of a Housing Decision Chain in Rural Community Vitality
The purpose of this research was to explore and explain the role housing plays in rural community vitality. Community vitality refers to economic strength and social well-being. In spring 2002 we collected primary interview data from informants in 134 small rural communities in nine north-central states and identified related secondary data from the U.S. census. We developed a structural-equation-path model, which supported a 'housing decision ch…
Public responses to climate change: The role of deliberation in building capacity for adaptive action
The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation: Empirical Lessons from Mini-Publics
This article investigates the prospects of deliberative democracy through the analysis of small-scale deliberative events, or mini-publics, using empirical methods to understand the process of preference transformation. Evidence from two case studies suggests that deliberation corrects preexisting distortions of public will caused by either active manipulation or passive overemphasis on symbolically potent issues. Deliberation corrected these dis…
Democracy and Climate Change: What Can Deliberative Democracy Contribute
This paper argues that deliberative democracy is best placed to meet the challenge that climate change poses to systems of governance, although the task of implementing it is challenging. Deliberative democracy extends on the basic idea of democracy by emphasising the way in which citizens engage with issues, requiring reflection on all relevant dimensions. Where climate change is easily crowded‐out in the prevailing nature of political debate, d…
“What sceptics believe”: The effects of information and deliberation on climate change scepticism
Scepticism about climate change now appears a pervasive social phenomenon. Research to date has examined the different forms that scepticism can take, from outright denial to general uncertainty. Less is known about what climate sceptics value and believe beyond their climate change doubt, as well as how “entrenched” such beliefs are. In response, this paper discusses research into public reactions to projected climate change in the Australian Ca…
Appreciative and contestatory inquiry in deliberative forums: Can group hugs be dangerous
The project of deliberative democracy is increasingly pursued through designed mini-publics. But exactly how they are designed proves crucial in determining whether or not mini-publics can deliver on their promise. This article explores the role of appreciative inquiry – a version of deliberative design that is gaining ground. In this approach, participants are primed to develop an ‘appreciative gaze’ by focusing the discussion on what already wo…
Reaching Out to Overcome Political Apathy: Building Participatory Capacity through Deliberative Engagement
A common objection against deliberative democracy relates to the impression that citizens, in general, are unwilling to participate in democratic politics. We contribute to the growing literature that challenges this impression by analyzing the discursive profile of citizens that participate in deliberation. By discursive profile, we refer to participants' own perceived role in the democratic process and their articulated motivations for joining …
On the use of imagery for climate change engagement
Julia Gillard's Citizens' Assembly Proposal for Australia: A Deliberative Democratic Analysis
Many governments have embraced the rhetoric of inclusive citizen engagement. Greater public involvement promises to strengthen democratic institutions and improve the quality of policy decisions and services. How do these aspirations sit alongside the reality of Australian federal politics? This article investigates the responses of elite policy actors to the Gillard government's proposal to conduct a citizens’ assembly on climate change in 2010.…
Improving deliberative participation: Connecting Mini-Publics to Deliberative Systems
This article argues for the assessment of deliberative mini-publics as a dynamic part of a wider deliberative system. The approach draws primarily on Dryzek’s (2009) deliberative capacity building framework, which describes the democratic process as ideally involving authentic deliberation, inclusiveness in the deliberative process, and consequentiality or deliberation’s influence on decisions as well as positive impact on the system. This approa…
Twelve Key Findings in Deliberative Democracy Research
This essay reflects on the development of the field of deliberative democracy by discussing twelve key findings that capture a number of resolved issues in normative theory, conceptual clarification, and associated empirical results. We argue that these findings deserve to be more widely recognized and viewed as a foundation for future practice and research. We draw on our own research and that of others in the field
Political science (31 works) · Law (25 works) · Sociology (23 works) · Democracy (20 works) · Deliberative democracy (19 works) · Politics (19 works) · Social Media and Politics (18 works) · Law (17 works) · Psychology (15 works) · Deliberation (14 works)