The Field and Study of Deliberative Democracy in Australia

Abstract

Australia is recognized globally as an important hub for the study and practice of deliber ative democracy. Both a normative and practical project, the field of deliberative democ racy aims to improve the quality and inclusivity of public reasoning in collective decision- making. This chapter explores deliberative democracy in Australia from two angles. First, it discusses how a nation typically characterized by its adversarial and more majoritarian democratic system has become a significant international hotspot for scholars and practi tioners of deliberative democracy. Second, the chapter examines how deliberative democ racy has been applied as a lens to empirically study aspects of Australian politics. There is, the author argues, much more work for deliberative democrats to undertake in the Australian context, particularly in assessing and strengthening the deliberative capacity of the nation’s key political institutions. Show more