Defending democracy against technocracy and populism: Deliberative democracy's strengths and challenges

Activist Challenges to Deliberative Democracy

Screen and song celebrate social justice movements that protested in the streets when they were convinced that existing institutions and their normal procedures only reinforced the status quo. Many rights have been won in democratic societies by means of courageous activism — the eight hour day, votes for women, the right to sit at any lunch counter. Yet contemporary democratic theory rarely re...

Imperfect Information, Democracy, and Populism∗

The modern world is complex and difficult to understand for voters, who may hold beliefs that are at variance with reality. Politicians face incentives to pander to voters’ beliefs to get reelected. We analyze the welfare effects of this pandering and show that it comes along with both costs and benefits. Moreover, we explore optimal constitutional design in the presence of imperfect informatio...

Rhetoric and Deliberative Democracy

Deliberative Democracy and Education

Pharmacopolitics and deliberative democracy.

Setting priorities in healthcare has become a highly politicised activity. Traditionally it has been undertaken by government and the health professions but there is an increasing imperative to involve the public. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has established a Citizens' Council as an attempt to capture the informed views of the public in shaping the Institute...