Deliberative democracy in divided societies: alternatives to agonism and analgesia

Abstract

For contemporary democratic theorists, democracy is largely a matter of deliberation. But the rise of deliberative democracy coincided with ever more prominent identity politics, sometimes in murderous form in deeply divided societies. This paper considers the degree to which deliberative democracy can process the toughest issues concerning mutually contradictory assertions of identity. After considering the alternative answers provided by agonists and consociational democrats, the case is made for a power-sharing state with attenuated sovereignty and a more contestatory deliberative politics in a public sphere that is semi-detached from the state. Show more