Reimagining Democratisation Through Deliberation: United Nations Peacebuilding in Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Nepal

Abstract

This thesis brings together the theory and practice of peacebuilding and deliberative democracy. It examines United Nations efforts to build democratic governance in Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Nepal, and argues that these initiatives had varied success in promoting sustainable democratisation because they were imposed by outsiders and were insufficiently responsive to the needs and aspirations of local communities. It contends that future democratisation initiatives should strengthen the inclusive capacity of democratic governance by incorporating the theory and practice of deliberative democracy.

Drawing on first-hand experiences and outcomes in the case study sites, the thesis proposes an original model of deliberative democratisation made up of four elements: the recognition of pre-existing decision-making systems; the introduction of deliberative processes in addition to aggregative democracy; a focus on promoting the capacity or "reach" of public deliberation; and a focus on quality deliberation in a decision-making system.

The proposed model has both analytic and normative functions: it can be used to analyse and evaluate existing peacebuilding processes, and provides a normative deliberative framework around which future peace building initiatives could be reimagined.

Finally, the thesis presents a linked series of recommendations for future democratisation efforts, based on the deliberative model proposed, and grounded in the analysis of the three case studies.