Deliberative politics in action : analyzing parliamentary discourse / Jürg Steiner ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Steiner, Jürg.

Series:

Theories of institutional design

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communication in politics--Cross-cultural studies.

Communication in politics.

Representative government and representation--Cross-cultural studies.

Representative government and representation.

Discourse analysis--Political aspects.

Discourse analysis.

Genre:

Cross-cultural studies.

Physical Description:

vi, 199 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Summary:

"Deliberative politics" refers to the role of conversation and arguments in politics. Until recently, discussion of deliberative politics took place almost exclusively among political philosophers, but many questions raised in this philosophical discussion cry out for empirical investigation. This book provides the first extended empirical study of deliberative politics, addressing in particular questions of the preconditions and consequences of high-level deliberation. Using parliamentary debates in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States as an empirical base, the authors measure the level of deliberation by constructing a "Discourse Quality Index." As deliberative politics moves to the forefront of political theory, this book makes an important contribution to deliberative democracy.

Contents:

Introduction: The research questions 1

1 Institutions and behavior: the example of consociational theory 8

2 The philosophical literature on deliberative politics 16

3 Measuring deliberation: a Discourse Quality Index 43

4 Understanding the real world of deliberation: hypotheses about antecedents and consequences 74

5 Antecedents of deliberation: institutions and issues 98

6 Discourse and its consequences 138

Conclusion and research outlook 165

Appendix Discourse Quality Index (DQI): instructions for coders 170.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 180-193) and index.

ISBN:

0521828716

0521535646

OCLC:

55518092

Online:

Publisher description