Deliberative democracy

A model of democracy in which political decisions gain legitimacy through public reasoning among people affected by them. It emphasizes inclusive discussion, exchange of reasons, and the possibility of revising views.

Public sphere: A social space in which people discuss matters of shared concern and form public opinion. Discussion in informal public life can shape the issues and arguments that enter formal decision-making.
Political legitimacy: The justification for a political authority's right to make binding decisions. Deliberative democracy treats reasoned public participation as a source of justified authority.
Competitive democracy: A model of democracy centered on competition among political elites for citizens' votes. It locates democratic accountability primarily in elections, rather than public reasoning.
Jürgen Habermas: A German philosopher and social theorist whose work links communicative rationality, public discourse, and democratic legitimacy. His discourse theory supplied a major philosophical foundation for deliberative democracy.
Epistemic democracy: An approach to democracy that evaluates institutions partly by their ability to produce accurate or informed decisions. It asks whether deliberation improves collective judgment, not only political legitimacy.
Deliberative polling: A survey method that measures opinions after participants receive information and discuss an issue. It tests how informed discussion can change expressed public preferences.
Public reason: A standard of political justification based on reasons citizens can assess as free and equal participants. It frames which arguments can justify coercive laws to people with diverse beliefs.
Aggregative democracy: A model of democracy that combines citizens' preferences, commonly through voting, into collective decisions. It contrasts preference aggregation with deliberation that can inform or transform preferences.
John Rawls: An American political philosopher who developed a theory of justice based on fairness and public reason. His account of public reason shaped debates about justification in pluralist democracies.
Group polarization: The tendency for discussion among like-minded people to produce more extreme group positions. Deliberation can intensify disagreement when participants encounter only reinforcing views.

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