Deliberation in Democracy’s Dark Times

Abstract

This piece reflects on the on the legacies of democratic deliberation, particularly mini-publics in responding to issues of disinformation, bigotry and nativism that has entered the political mainstream today. It aims to provoke conversations about the limitations of mini-publics in promoting democratic renewal and reconsider the functions of these forums in democracy’s ‘dark times.’

Keywords

• citizen juries
• mini-publics
• populism
• Deliberative democracy