Why and how to compare deliberative systems

Bibliographic Data

ID6258804
AuthorsJohn Boswell (0000-0002-3018-8791, Department of Politics and International Relations University of Southampton UK, corresponding author), Jack Corbett (0000-0003-2005-7162, Department of Politics and International Relations University of Southampton UK)
Year2017
Volume56
Issue4
Pages801-819
Publication date2017-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Political Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0304-4130 • E-ISSN: 1475-6765
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1475-6765.12205
OpenAlexW2600406266
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited42

The systemic turn in deliberative democratic theory presents empirical researchers in this field with a problem. Deliberative systems are complex, porous and shifting in nature. These features cannot be adequately assessed by existing tools for measuring deliberative and democratic qualities. Such qualities only become apparent when set against practices in other systems. Meaningful analysis rests on comparison. However, in turning to the comparative politics literature for inspiration, we caution that the two dominant traditions in this subfield – rigidly systematic comparison or thickly descriptive area studies – are of only limited utility. On the one hand, rigid comparative analysis will map uncomfortably on the systemic account. On the other, there is a need to move beyond idiographic accounts produced in thick descriptions. Instead, this article emphasises the value of two alternative traditions in comparative political analysis. The first is through the use of ‘family resemblances’ in comparative research design. The second is through post hoc comparisons that draw together eclectic affinities between systems. Both approaches are sensitive to the contextual complexities of deliberative systems in practice. Both can tell us a great deal about why and how deliberative practices and institutions emerge, flourish or fail, and how they enable, enhance or undermine the democratic and deliberative qualities of the system overall. This article draws on promising examples of these two approaches to emphasise their value in understanding deliberative systems in practice

Deliberation · Deliberative democracy · Democracy · Economics · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Management science · Nomothetic and idiographic · Political science · Politics · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Social Media and Politics