Deliberative Democracy in Practice: Challenges and Prospects for Civic Deliberation

We bring democratic theory and democratic practice together by examining practical efforts by several different organizations around the USA to make good on the promise of democratic deliberation through organization of public forums on particular issues. Participant observation and interviews with organizers and other participants reveals that deliberation is a complicated process marked by conflict, differing orientations, and political inequalities. We conclude that deliberation can play an important role even in a representative democracy, though caution against regarding it as a cure-all for the ills of contemporary politics.