What Happens When Mini-Publics Are Held in a Deeply Divided Place? Evidence from Northern Ireland

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12381561
AutoresJames Pow (0000-0002-0550-2304, Queen's University Belfast, autor de correspondencia), John Garry (0000-0002-2089-3817, Queen's University Belfast)
Año2023
Volumen56
Número4
Páginas572-578
Fecha de publicación2023-08-10
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPS Political Science & Politics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1049-0965 • E-ISSN: 1537-5935
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1049096523000409
OpenAlexW4385739442
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas13

A pessimistic view of the potential of deliberative mini-publics to effectively contribute to democratic decision making on highly contested issues in deeply divided places asserts that (1) deliberative quality would be low due to the bitterness prompted by discussion of divisive issues, and (2) levels of opinion change would be low given the stubbornly enduring nature of political attitudes in divided places. We empirically examined this pessimistic view using a quasi-experiment involving mini-publics on two separate issues in Northern Ireland: (1) the contentious ethno-national question of Northern Ireland’s constitutional status, and (2) the much less contested and non-ethno-national issue of social care. Contrary to the pessimistic view, we find evidence that from the perspective of the participants themselves, deliberative quality was higher in the mini-public on an ethno-national issue. However, in line with the pessimistic view, levels of self-reported opinion change were significantly lower in the ethno-national mini-public. Overall, the findings highlight the potential for carefully designed deliberative mini-publics to address divisive ethno-national issues: they provide a space for participants to engage with such issues in open and respectful discussion—even if the prospects for attitudinal change are more limited

Deliberative democracy · Democracy · Epistemology · Ethnology · Northern ireland · Pessimism · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Public relations · Publics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Media and Politics