Afsoun Afsahi
Biographic Data
| ID | 4373901 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Afsoun Afsahi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Afsoun |
| FAMILY NAME | Afsahi |
| SIGNATURE | AFSAHI A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Amsterdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1397-925X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 37 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
When facilitation is not enough
While scholars of deliberative democracy have long conceded that good deliberation requires careful facilitation, little attention has been paid to the effects of different facilitation methods. This paper has three aims. First, it establishes the importance of facilitation. Second, it argues that facilitation may not be enough to counteract the imbalances in power and influence within deliberation. As such, this paper introduces two games that c…
Deliberative Campaigns
This article advances the concept of deliberative campaigns as a structured, cyclical and party-integrated process to reinvigorate democratic systems under strain from exclusion, polarization and disengagement. Deliberative campaigns embed ongoing, reciprocal deliberation between citizens and representatives throughout and beyond election cycles, making party platform creation a continuous, participatory endeavor. Drawing on the systemic approach…
Towards a principle of most-deeply affected
This article argues that all-affected principle needs to be reconceptualized to account for the differences in the historical and current social position of those who are or who should be making legitimacy claims. Drawing on Butler’s theory of vulnerability, this article advances a new and more robust all-affected principle that affords a stronger claim to legitimacy to those most-deeply affected by both the current decision in question and the h…
The Role of Self-Interest in Deliberation
How do successful deliberations unfold? What happens when they unravel? In this article, I propose that we think of the dynamics of participant engagement within deliberation as series of self-interested and reciprocal investments in and divestments from deliberative capital. This article has three parts. First, I draw on the literatures on deliberative democracy and social capital to outline a theory of deliberative capital. I highlight the impo…
Democracy in a time of misery
A year and half into the COVID-19 pandemic, our daily lives continue to be marked by ongoing misery. In this context, Nicole Curato’s book, Democracy in a Time of Misery, could not be timelier. Whi
Deliberating across Difference
This paper examines two cases of deliberation on the issue of religious arbitration in Canada: first, the Sharia law debate in Ontario (deliberation in the larger public sphere); and second, a deliberation on religious arbitration in British Columbia (deliberation in a small-scale structured setting). Relying on both secondary and original data, this article demonstrates that while the Sharia law debate failed to fulfill the key functions of a de…
Deliberating across Difference
This paper examines two cases of deliberation on the issue of religious arbitration in Canada: first, the Sharia law debate in Ontario (deliberation in the larger public sphere); and second, a deliberation on religious arbitration in British Columbia (deliberation in a small-scale structured setting). Relying on both secondary and original data, this article demonstrates that while the Sharia law debate failed to fulfill the key functions of a de…
Democracy in a Global Emergency
As countries around the world went into lockdown, we turned to 32 leading scholars working on different aspects of democracy and asked them what they think about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted democracy. In this article, we synthesize the reflections of these scholars and present five key insights about the prospects and challenges of enacting democracy both during and after the pandemic: (1) COVID-19 has had corrosive effects on already …
Gender Difference in Willingness and Capacity for Deliberation
This article examines the gender gap in deliberation, focusing on three facets: willingness to deliberate, capacity for deliberation, and facilitation techniques aimed at reducing the gender gap. It hypothesizes that women will be less willing to deliberate but more likely to engage in strictly defined desired deliberative behaviors. Relying on original survey and experimental data, this paper finds women to be more willing to deliberate. However…
Disabled Lives in Deliberative Systems
This essay argues that the systemic turn in deliberative democracy has opened up avenues to think about disabled citizenship within discursive processes. I highlight the systemic turn’s recognition of the interdependence of individuals and institutions upon each other in a system as key to this project. This recognition has led to three transformations: (1) a more generous account of deliberative speech acts and behaviors; (2) recognition of the …
Kantian Democracy
Situating Immanuel Kant within the discipline of political theory is not an easy task. While it would be a mistake to assume that Kant's philosophy is devoid of political insights, there is no one clear text that can be singled out as outlining Kant's political philosophy. Hannah Arendt, in fact, has argued that in many ways Kant's political philosophy is unwritten and even nonexistent.1 According to Arendt, Kant misunderstood his own contributio…
Disabled Lives in Deliberative Systems
This essay argues that the systemic turn in deliberative democracy has opened up avenues to think about disabled citizenship within discursive processes. I highlight the systemic turn’s recognition of the interdependence of individuals and institutions upon each other in a system as key to this project. This recognition has led to three transformations: (1) a more generous account of deliberative speech acts and behaviors; (2) recognition of the …
Democracy in a Global Emergency
As countries around the world went into lockdown, we turned to 32 leading scholars working on different aspects of democracy and asked them what they think about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted democracy. In this article, we synthesize the reflections of these scholars and present five key insights about the prospects and challenges of enacting democracy both during and after the pandemic: (1) COVID-19 has had corrosive effects on already …
Gender Difference in Willingness and Capacity for Deliberation
This article examines the gender gap in deliberation, focusing on three facets: willingness to deliberate, capacity for deliberation, and facilitation techniques aimed at reducing the gender gap. It hypothesizes that women will be less willing to deliberate but more likely to engage in strictly defined desired deliberative behaviors. Relying on original survey and experimental data, this paper finds women to be more willing to deliberate. However…
The Role of Self-Interest in Deliberation
How do successful deliberations unfold? What happens when they unravel? In this article, I propose that we think of the dynamics of participant engagement within deliberation as series of self-interested and reciprocal investments in and divestments from deliberative capital. This article has three parts. First, I draw on the literatures on deliberative democracy and social capital to outline a theory of deliberative capital. I highlight the impo…
Towards a principle of most-deeply affected
This article argues that all-affected principle needs to be reconceptualized to account for the differences in the historical and current social position of those who are or who should be making legitimacy claims. Drawing on Butler’s theory of vulnerability, this article advances a new and more robust all-affected principle that affords a stronger claim to legitimacy to those most-deeply affected by both the current decision in question and the h…
Kantian Democracy
Situating Immanuel Kant within the discipline of political theory is not an easy task. While it would be a mistake to assume that Kant's philosophy is devoid of political insights, there is no one clear text that can be singled out as outlining Kant's political philosophy. Hannah Arendt, in fact, has argued that in many ways Kant's political philosophy is unwritten and even nonexistent.1 According to Arendt, Kant misunderstood his own contributio…
Deliberating across Difference
This paper examines two cases of deliberation on the issue of religious arbitration in Canada: first, the Sharia law debate in Ontario (deliberation in the larger public sphere); and second, a deliberation on religious arbitration in British Columbia (deliberation in a small-scale structured setting). Relying on both secondary and original data, this article demonstrates that while the Sharia law debate failed to fulfill the key functions of a de…
Deliberating across Difference
This paper examines two cases of deliberation on the issue of religious arbitration in Canada: first, the Sharia law debate in Ontario (deliberation in the larger public sphere); and second, a deliberation on religious arbitration in British Columbia (deliberation in a small-scale structured setting). Relying on both secondary and original data, this article demonstrates that while the Sharia law debate failed to fulfill the key functions of a de…
Democracy in a Global Emergency
As countries around the world went into lockdown, we turned to 32 leading scholars working on different aspects of democracy and asked them what they think about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted democracy. In this article, we synthesize the reflections of these scholars and present five key insights about the prospects and challenges of enacting democracy both during and after the pandemic: (1) COVID-19 has had corrosive effects on already …
Gender Difference in Willingness and Capacity for Deliberation
This article examines the gender gap in deliberation, focusing on three facets: willingness to deliberate, capacity for deliberation, and facilitation techniques aimed at reducing the gender gap. It hypothesizes that women will be less willing to deliberate but more likely to engage in strictly defined desired deliberative behaviors. Relying on original survey and experimental data, this paper finds women to be more willing to deliberate. However…
Disabled Lives in Deliberative Systems
This essay argues that the systemic turn in deliberative democracy has opened up avenues to think about disabled citizenship within discursive processes. I highlight the systemic turn’s recognition of the interdependence of individuals and institutions upon each other in a system as key to this project. This recognition has led to three transformations: (1) a more generous account of deliberative speech acts and behaviors; (2) recognition of the …
Democracy in a time of misery
A year and half into the COVID-19 pandemic, our daily lives continue to be marked by ongoing misery. In this context, Nicole Curato’s book, Democracy in a Time of Misery, could not be timelier. Whi
Towards a principle of most-deeply affected
This article argues that all-affected principle needs to be reconceptualized to account for the differences in the historical and current social position of those who are or who should be making legitimacy claims. Drawing on Butler’s theory of vulnerability, this article advances a new and more robust all-affected principle that affords a stronger claim to legitimacy to those most-deeply affected by both the current decision in question and the h…
The Role of Self-Interest in Deliberation
How do successful deliberations unfold? What happens when they unravel? In this article, I propose that we think of the dynamics of participant engagement within deliberation as series of self-interested and reciprocal investments in and divestments from deliberative capital. This article has three parts. First, I draw on the literatures on deliberative democracy and social capital to outline a theory of deliberative capital. I highlight the impo…
When facilitation is not enough
While scholars of deliberative democracy have long conceded that good deliberation requires careful facilitation, little attention has been paid to the effects of different facilitation methods. This paper has three aims. First, it establishes the importance of facilitation. Second, it argues that facilitation may not be enough to counteract the imbalances in power and influence within deliberation. As such, this paper introduces two games that c…
Deliberative Campaigns
This article advances the concept of deliberative campaigns as a structured, cyclical and party-integrated process to reinvigorate democratic systems under strain from exclusion, polarization and disengagement. Deliberative campaigns embed ongoing, reciprocal deliberation between citizens and representatives throughout and beyond election cycles, making party platform creation a continuous, participatory endeavor. Drawing on the systemic approach…
Political science (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Politics (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Democracy (6 works) · Social Media and Politics (5 works) · Deliberation (4 works) · Deliberative democracy (4 works) · Computer Science (3 works)