Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T05:47:11.370Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Deliberating Downstream: Countering Democratic Distortions in the Policy Process

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2016

John Boswell
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Key theorists and scholars of democracy have focused on understanding and enhancing the institutions and practices that shape decision-making. Indeed, the most influential contemporary normative account—the deliberative version—though increasingly adapted to the complex realities of contemporary politics, retains a tight focus on the conditions of legitimate will formation. This remains the core underpinning of the normative impetus for innovation and reform in contemporary democratic politics. Yet missing from even the adapted deliberative account is detailed consideration of what happens after will formation. I turn here to the policy and administration literature to show how the inescapably attritional and opaque policy process can magnify asymmetries that theorists and scholars of contemporary democracy, chief among them deliberative democrats, ought to be much better attuned to. I argue that in failing to consider these problems adequately, contemporary democratic thinkers, scholars, and reformers risk lending legitimacy to institutions and practices that might sustain the very biases they are mobilized against. As such, I identify institutional innovations and governing practices that can embed aspects of democratic deliberation “downstream” in the policy process in order to counter distortions and rebalance asymmetries. I conclude by calling for theorists, researchers, and reformers to explore the value of these institutions and practices, and to expand the repertoire of governing mechanisms available to counter the distortions that occur through the policy process.

Type
Articles
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , September 2016 , pp. 724 - 737
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alford, John. 2009. Engaging Public Sector Clients: From Service-Delivery to Co-production. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bache, Ian, Reardon, Louise, Bartle, Ian, Flinders, Matthew, and Marsden, Greg. 2015. “Symbolic Meta-Policy: (Not) Tackling Climate Change in the Transport Sector.” Political Studies 63(5): 830–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baier, Vicki E, March, James G., and Saetren, Harald. 1986. “Implementation and Ambiguity.” Scandinavian Journal of Management Studies 2(3–4): 197–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohman, James. 1996. Public Deliberation: Pluralism, Complexity and Democracy. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Boswell, John. 2016. (Ahead-of-print). “The Performance of Political Narratives: How Britain and Australia's ‘Fat Bombs’ Fizzled Out.” British Journal of Political and International Relations. DOI: 10.1177/1369148116630232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bødker, Marlene, Pisinger, Charlotta, Toft, Ulla, and Jorgensen, Torben. 2015 “The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Fat Tax.” Health Policy 119(6): 737–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bulkeley, Helen. 2000. “Discourse Coalitions and the Australian Climate Change Policy Network.” Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 18, 727–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bussu, Sonia and Zacharzewski, Anthony. 2014. “NHS Citizen: Designing Democracy in the Light.” Presented at the Participatory and Deliberative Democracy Conference, Newcastle upon Tyne, July 7–9.Google Scholar
Chambers, Simone. 2003. “Deliberative DemocraticTheory.” Annual Review of Political Science 6: 307–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, Simone. 2004. “Behind Closed Doors: Publicity, Secrecy, and the Quality of Deliberation.” Journal of Political Philosophy 12(4): 389–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, Simone. 2009. “Rhetoric and the Public Sphere: Has Deliberative Democracy Abandoned Mass Democracy?” Political Theory 37(3): 323–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dryzek, John S. 2009. “Democratization as Deliberative Capacity Building.” Comparative Political Studies 42(11): 1379–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dryzek, John S. 2015. “Deliberative Democratic Agents of Justice.” Directions in Deliberation Workshop, University of Westminster.Google Scholar
Fung, Archon and Wright, Erik Olin. 2001. “Deepening Democracy: Innovations in Empowered Participatory Governance.” Politics & Society 29(1): 5–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodin, Robert E. 2005. “Sequencing Deliberative Moments.” Acta Politica 40(2): 182–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutmann, Amy and Thompson, Dennis. 1996. Democracy and Disagreement. Cambrdige, MA: Belknap Press.Google Scholar
Habermas, Jürgen. 1984. The Theory of Communicative Action. Boston: Beacon.Google Scholar
Habermas, Jürgen. 1996. Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hajer, Maarten A. and Waagenar, Henrik, eds. 2003. Deliberative Policy Analysis: Understanding Governance in the Network Society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heclo, Hugh. 1974. Modern Social Politics in Britain and Sweden: From Relief to Income Maintenance. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Hendriks, Carolyn M. 2006. “Integrated Deliberation: Reconciling Civil Society’s Dual Role in Deliberative Democracy.” Political Studies 54(3): 486–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendriks, Carolyn M. 2011. The Politics of Public Deliberation: Citizen Engagement and Interest Advocacy. London: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hudson, Bob. 2006. “User Outcomes and Children’s Services Reform.” Social Policy and Society 5(2): 227–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hupe, Peter, Nangia, Monika, and Hill, Michael. 2014. “Studying Implementation beyond Deficit Analysis: Reconsidering the Top-Down View.” Public Policy and Adminstration 29(2): 145–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iusmen, Ingi. 2012. “Civil Society Participation and EU Children’s Rights Policy.” Journal of Civil Society 8(2): 137–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jurkowski, Janine, Green, Lisa Mills, Hal, Lawson, Bovenzi, Mary, Quartimon, Ronald, and Davison, Kirsten K.. 2013. “Engaging Low-Income Parents in Childhood Obesity Prevention from Start to Finish: A Case Study.” Journal of Community Health 38(1): 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leighninger, Matthew. 2012. “Mapping Deliberative Civic Engagement: Pictures from a (R)evolution.” In Democracy in Motion: Evaluating the Practice and Impact of Deliberative Civic Engagement, ed. Nabatchi, Tina, John, Gastil, Weiksner, M., and Matthew, Leighninger. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lindblom, Charles E. 1977. Politics and Markets: The World’s Political-Economic Systems. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane. 1999. “Everyday Talk in the Deliberative System.” In Deliberative Politics: Essays on Democracy and Disagreement, ed. Macedo, Stephen. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane, Bohman, James, Chambers, Simone, Estlund, David, Føllesdal, Andreas, Fung, Archon, Lafont, Cristian, Manin, Bernard, Martí, Jose Luis. 2010. “The Place of Self-Interest and the Role of Power in Deliberative Democracy.” Journal of Political Philosophy 18(1): 64–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansbridge, Jane, Bohman, James, Chambers, Simone, Christiano, Thomas, Fung, Archon, Parkinson, John R., Thompson, Dennis F., and Warren, Mark E.. 2012. “A Systemic Approach to Deliberative Democracy.” In Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at the Large Scale, ed. Parkinson, John and Mansbridge, Jane. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Matland, Robert E. 1995. “Synthesizing the Implementation Literature: The Ambiguity-Conflict Model of Policy Implementation.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 5(2): 145–74.Google Scholar
Mazey, Sonia and Richardson, Jeremy. 2012. “Environmental Groups and the EC: Challenges and Opportunities.” In Environmental Policy and the EU: Actors, Institutions and Processes, ed. Jordan, Andrew and Adelle, Camilla. Earthscan: London.Google Scholar
Mazmanian, Daniel A. and Sabatier, Paul A.. 1989. Implementation and Public Policy. Washington, DC: University Press of America.Google Scholar
Naurin, Daniel. 2007. “Backstage Behavior? Lobbyists in Public and Private Settings in Sweden and the European Union.” Comparative Politics 39(2): 209–28.Google Scholar
Neblo, Michael. 2005. “Thinking through Democracy: Between the Theory and Practice of Deliberative Politics.” Acta Politica 40(2): 169–81.Google Scholar
Niemeyer, Simon and Dryzek, John S.. 2007. “The Ends of Deliberation: Meta-consensus and Inter-subjective Rationality as Ideal Outcomes.” Swiss Political Science Review 13(4): 497–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osborne, Stephen, Radnor, Zoe, and Nasi, Greta. 2013. “A New Theory for Public Service Management? Toward a (Public) Service-Dominant Approach.” American Review of Public Administration 43(2): 135–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Toole, Lawrence and Meier, Kenneth. 2004. “Desperately seeking Selznick: Cooptation and the dark side of public management in networks,” Public Administration Review, 64, 681–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, David and Smith, Graham. 2015. “Survey Article: Deliberation, Democracy, and the Systemic Turn.” Journal of Political Philosophy 23(2): 212–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkinson, John R. 2006. Deliberating in the Real World: Problems of Legitimacy in Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkinson, John R. and Mansbridge, Jane, eds. 2012. Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at the Large Scale, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papadopoulos, Yannis. 2012. “On the Embeddedness of Deliberative Systems: Why Elitist Innovations Matter More.” In Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at the Large Scale, ed. Parkinson, John and Mansbridge, Jane. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Patashnik, Eric. 2003. “After the Public Interest Prevails: The Political Sustainability of Policy Reform.” Governance 16(2): 203–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patashnik, Eric. 2008. Reforms at Risk: What Happens after Major Policy Changes Are Enacted. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Pateman, Carole. 2012. “Participatory Democracy Revisited.” Perspectives on Politics 10(1): 7–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettit, Philip. 1999. “Republican Freedom and Contestatory Democratisation” in Shapiro, Ian and Hacker-Corden, Casiano (eds.) Democracy’s Value. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 163–190Google Scholar
Rummens, Stefan, 2011. “Staging Deliberation: The Role of Representative Institutions in the Deliberative Democratic Process.” Journal of Political Philosophy 20(1): 23–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabatier, Paul A. 1988. “An Advocacy Coalition Framework of Policy Change and the Role of Policy-Oriented Learning Therein.” Policy Sciences 21(2–3): 129–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabel, Charles and Zeitlin, Jonathan. 2008. “Learning from Difference: The New Architecture of Experimentalist Governance in the EU.” European Law Journal 14(3): 271–327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabl, Andrew. 2015. “The Two Cultures of Democratic Theory.” Perspectives on Politics 13(2): 345–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saward, Michael. 2009. “Authorization and Authenticity: Representation and the Unelected.” Journal of Political Philosophy 17(1): 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schattschneider, E. E. 1960. The Semi-Sovereign People: A Realist’s View of Democracy in America. Chicago, IL: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Schmidt, Vivian and Radaelli, Claudio. 2004. “Policy Change and Discourse in Europe: Conceptual and Methodological Issues.” West European Politics 27(2): 183–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Graham. 2009. Democratic Innovations: Designing Institutions for Citizen Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Adrian and Kern, Florian. 2009. “The Transitions Storyline in Dutch Environmental Policy.” Environmental Politics 18(1): 78–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, Deborah A. 2002. Policy Paradox and Political Reason: The Art of Political Decision Making. Rev. ed. New York: WW Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Soss, Joe. 2000. Unwanted Claims: The Politics of Participation in the U.S. Welfare System. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunstein, Cass R. 1995. “Incompletely Theorized Agreements.” Harvard Law Review 108(7): 1733–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thacher, David and Rein, Martin. 2004. “Managing Value Conflict in Public Policy.” Governance 17(4): 457–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, John Clayton. 2013. “Citizen, Customer, Partner: Re-Thinking the Place of the Public in Public Management.” Public Administration Review 73(6): 786–96.Google Scholar
Warren, Mark E. 1996. “Deliberative Democracy and Authority.” American Political Science Review 90(1): 46–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yanow, Dvora. 1993. “The Communication of Policy Meaning: Implementation as Interpretation and Text.” Policy Sciences 26(1): 41–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, Nikolaos and Exadaktylos, Theofanis. 2015. “Policies That Succeed and ProgramsTthat Fail: Ambiguity, Conflict, and Crisis in Greek Higher Education.” Policy Studies Journal 44(1): 59–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar