Diasporas and Deliberative Democracy: A case study of Jewish diaspora involvement in constitutional deliberations in Israel
Date
2017
Authors
Keinan, Shay Baruch
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Publisher
Canberra, ACT : The Australian National University
Abstract
The boundaries of citizenship are increasingly contested. The
trend among scholars is to try to expand the state’s
responsibilities and duties to include non-citizens in the
relevant polity. Legal, social and political theorists ask
whether citizenship can or should exist beyond the nation state
and a defined territory.
This debate closely relates to the burgeoning research regarding
diaspora communities and their connections with their countries
of origin or homelands (‘kin-states’). Diaspora communities
have always maintained some level of interest in the affairs of
their kin-states, but globalisation and advanced communication
technologies have made it easier for people in the diaspora to
engage in activities that are directed at the political and
social life of their kin-states. Kin-state governments also
increasingly extend their actions beyond their state borders and
reach out to their diaspora communities in order to promote a
specific definition of the national community and to reap
political and economic gains.
This trend of diaspora communities influencing political
decisions in a country in which they do not reside raises a
question of legitimacy in traditional liberal-democratic models
of governance: why should diaspora people be allowed to affect
political decisions in their kin-state when they may not have to
bear the consequences of such decisions? As diaspora populations
become more and more involved in political processes in their
kin-states, modern democratic theories need to adapt in order to
accommodate such encroachments on traditional democratic
principles.
In this thesis I analyse the challenges and legal implications
created by the existence of large and influential diaspora
communities in today’s globalised world. I connect diaspora
theory with deliberative democratic theory, filling a gap in
deliberative democratic literature. I contend that elite models
of deliberative democracy can be useful in overcoming the
challenges mentioned above. I examine the role of constitutional
courts in a deliberative democracy and argue that they may be
better situated to conduct deliberations in divided societies
where ethnic and religious tensions prevent other democratic
bodies from deliberating effectively. This is especially relevant
when dealing with divided societies with large diasporic
populations.
To support these claims, I examine the Israeli Supreme Court. I
analyse the Israeli Supreme Court’s unique deliberative
features and explain how these features have enabled diaspora
Jews (and other groups of non-citizens) to participate in the
Israeli democratic process. I examine illustrative cases in which
Jewish diaspora activists were involved in proceedings and
deliberations at the Israeli Supreme Court. The case studies
demonstrate that, under certain circumstances, diaspora
communities can legitimately and effectively participate in
political processes in their kin-states, challenge constitutional
norms and influence government policies and laws.
Description
Keywords
diaspora deliberative democracy, Israel, Jewish diaspora, constitutional courts, Israel's supreme court
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Thesis (PhD)
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DOI
10.25911/5d514499480e6