Authority and Deliberative Moments

Assessing Equality and Inequality in Deeply Divided Groups

Bibliographic Data

ID21255366
AuthorsRousiley C M Maia (0000-0002-8123-2406, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), Danila Cal (0000-0003-3243-8368, Universidade Federal do Pará), Janine K R Bargas (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), Vanessa Veiga De Oliveira (0000-0001-5333-4782, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), Patrícia G C Rossini (The Federal University of Minas Gerais), Patrícia Rossini (0000-0002-7582-3867, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), Rafael Sampaio (0000-0001-5176-173X, Universidade Federal do Paraná), Rafael C Sampaio (0000-0002-8227-8510, The Federal University of Paraná)
Year2017
Volume13
Issue2
Publication date2017-11-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Deliberative Democracy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2634-0488 • E-ISSN: 2634-0488
PublisherUniversity of Westminster Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.16997/jdd.283
OpenAlexW2992593510
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited37

The notion of equality is central to public deliberation, but few researches have examined how participants construct interactions in face-to-face group discussion involving unequal conditions of authority. This study analyses discussion between slum residents and police officers in Brazil, focusing on both reciprocal and hierarchical relationships in the flow of deliberation. It contributes to explain that the expression of authority is far from straightforward. Looking at a range of authority sources (expertise, functional position, tradition, life experience) that serve to situate and re-situate participants in relation to each other in discussion dynamics helps clarifying what goes on in deliberative moments. Findings reveal that personal experiences prevail in deliberative moments whereas functional credentials predominate in non-deliberative ones. Yet, the case demonstrates that functional authority is not necessarily dominative but can be combined with certain behaviors (such as empathetic imagination, search for commonalities and self-criticism) that lead to reciprocal interactions. This study provides important insights for organizing deliberation more effectively in contexts of fear, mistrust and resentment

Deliberation · Epistemology · Political science · Politics · Reciprocal · Resentment · Sociology · Subcategory · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Psychology · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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