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.
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