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Deliberative Democracy

Scholars working within the tradition of deliberative democracy emphasize the need to rethink the conceptual markers of democracy.  Unlike traditional democratic initiatives, deliberative democracy refers to a continuous engagement of civil society in institution building.  Deliberative democracy theorists argue that success of democracy depends on the depth of interactions among its citizens.  Deliberation involves the creational of an oppositional civil discourse and a clearly defined public sphere for democratic critique and debates.  It implies changing views and opinions, reasoned agreement through deliberation, and possibilities for critical discourse of public concerns.  Working within the tradition of political philosophy, with particular focus on John Rawls and Jurgen Habermas, current research on deliberative democracy examine the following topics of interest: a) institution building, b) tradition of pluralism and argumentation, c) role of civil society.  Fellows within the division focus on multiple issues including critical theoretical framework for deliberation and democracy, environmental justice and democracy building, environmental governance, state-making, civil society and environmental conflicts among others.

Representative Publications

  • Banerjee, D. 2008. “Environmental Rights.” In Judith Blau, David Brunsma, Catherine Zimmer, and Alberto Moncada (eds.). The Leading Rogue State: The US and Human Rights. Paradigm Publishers.
  • Banerjee, D and Michael M. Bell. 2008. “Environmental Justice.” In Richard T. Schafer (ed.) Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society. Sage Publications.
  • Dahms, Harry F. “Decoding Modern Society: The Matrix Trilogy and the Realm of Alienation,” Cinematic Sociology, 2nd ed., ed. Jean-Anne Sutherland and Kathryn Feltey (Pine Forge Press, 2012).
  • Dahms, H. “Democracy,” in Globalization and Security. An Encyclopedia, ed. Honor Fagan and Ronaldo Munck (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2009), vol. 1:43-59.
  • Dahms, Harry F. “Modernity”, Globalization and Security.  An Encyclopedia, ed. Honor Fagan and Ronaldo Munck (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2009), Vol. 2:303-20.
  • Garthoff, Jon. “The Idea of an Overlapping Consensus Revisited,” forthcoming in Journal of Value Inquiry, 2012.
  • Garthoff, Jon. “Legitimacy Is Not Authority,” Law and Philosophy 29:6, 2010.
  • Morgan, Jana. 2011. Bankrupt Representation and Party System Collapse. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Winner of the 2012 Van Cott Award for Outstanding Book from the Political Institutions Section of the Latin American Studies Association.
  • Reidy, D. “On the Human Right to Democracy: Searching for Sense Without Stilts.” Journal of Social Philosophy, v. 43, n. 2, pgs. 177-203, 2012.
  • Reidy, D. “Reciprocity and Reasonable Disagreement: From Liberal to Democratic Legitimacy.” Philosophical Studies, v. 132, pgs. 243-291, 2007.
  • Reidy, D. “Pluralism, Liberal Democracy and Compulsory Education.” Journal of Social Philosophy, v. 32, pgs. 585-609, 2001.
  • Reidy, D. “Rawls’s Wide View of Public Reason: Not Wide Enough.” Res Publica. v.6, pgs. 49-72, 2000.
  • Thayer-Bacon, B.  (2008). Beyond liberal democracy in schools:  The power of pluralism. New York, NY:  Teachers College Press.
  • Thayer-Bacon, B.  (Nov-Dec/ 2008).  Democracies-always-in-the-making:  Maxine Greene’s influence, Educational Studies, 44(3):  256-269.
  • Thayer-Bacon, B.  (2006). Beyond liberal democracy:  Dewey’s Renascent Liberalism, Education and Culture, 22(2):  19-30.
  • Thayer-Bacon, B.  (Spring 2004).  An exploration of Myles Horton’s democratic praxis:  Highlander Folk School, Educational Foundations, 18(2), 5-23.