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Twelve Key Findings in Deliberative Democracy Research

This essay reflects on the development of the field of deliberative democracy by discussing twelve key findings that capture a number of resolved issues in normative theory, conceptual clarification, and associated empirical results. We argue that these findings deserve to be more widely recognized and viewed as a foundation for future practice and research. We draw on our own research and that of others in the field.

Nicole Curato is Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Fellow at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra, Australia. She has published articles in such journals as Policy Sciences , Policy Studies , and European Political Science Review .

John S. Dryzek is Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Centenary Professor in the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra, Australia. His recent books include Democratizing Global Climate Governance (with Hayley Stevenson, 2014), Climate-Challenged Society (with Richard B. Norgaard and David Schlosberg, 2013), and The Politics of the Earth: Environmental Discourses (third edition, 2013).

Selen A. Ercan is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra, Australia. She has published articles in such journals as International Political Science Review , Policy and Politics , Australian Journal of Political Science , and Critical Policy Studies .

Carolyn M. Hendriks is Associate Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. She is the author of The Politics of Public Deliberation: Citizen Engagement and Interest Advocacy (2011) and has published in such journals as Politics & Society , Political Studies , and European Journal of Political Research .

Simon Niemeyer is Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra, Australia. He has published articles in such journals as American Political Science Review , Politics & Society , Ethical Perspectives , and Australian Journal of Politics and History .

D eliberative democracy is a normative project grounded in political theory. And political theorists make a living in large part by disagreeing with and criticizing each other. In fact, it is possible to evaluate the success of a political theory by the number of critics it attracts, and the vitality of its intramural disputes. By this measure, deliberative democracy is very successful indeed. Yet if the normative project is to progress and be applied effectively in practice, it needs to lay some issues to rest.

Deliberative democracy is not just the area of contention that its standing as a normative political theory would suggest. It is also home to a large volume of empirical social science research that, at its best, proceeds in dialogue with the normative theory. Indeed, the field is exemplary in this combination of political theory and empirical research. Deliberative ideas have also attracted the attention of citizens, activists, reform organizations, and decision-makers around the world. The practical uptake of deliberative ideas in political innovation provides a rich source of lessons from experience that can be added to theorizing and social science. This combination has proven extremely fruitful. Rather than proving or falsifying key hypotheses, deliberative practice has sharpened the focus of the normative project, showing how it can be applied in many different contexts.

We believe that conceptual analysis, logic, empirical study, normative theorizing, and the refinement of deliberative practice have set at least some controversies to rest, and we provide the following set of twelve key findings that can be used as the basis for further developments.

D eliber ative democracy is realistic . Skeptics have questioned the practical viability of deliberative democracy: its ideals have been criticized as utopian and its forums have been dismissed as mere experiments, with no hope of being institutionalized effectively. 1

But skeptics have been proved wrong by the many and diverse deliberative innovations that have been implemented in a variety of political systems. 2 Both state and nonstate institutions demand more deliberative forms of citizen engagement. Policy-makers and politicians convene citizens’ forums to elicit informed views on particular issues. 3 Studies find that deliberating citizens can and do influence policies, though impacts vary and can be indirect. 4 Deliberative forums are also being implemented in parliamentary and electoral contexts. 5 Outside the state, citizen forums are funded and implemented variously by civil society organizations, think tanks, corporations, and international organizations to advance a particular cause, foster public debate, or promote democratic reform. 6

The recent turn toward deliberative systems demonstrates that deliberative democratic ideals can be pursued on a large scale in ways that link particular forums and more informal practices, such as communication in old and new media. 7 Deliberative democracy is not utopian; it is already implemented within, outside, and across governmental institutions worldwide.

Deliberation is essential to democracy . Social choice theory appears to demonstrate that democratic politics must be plagued by arbitrariness and instability in collective decision. Notably, for political scientist William Riker, clever politicians can manipulate agendas and the order in which votes are taken to ensure their preferred option wins. 8 But if their opponents are also clever, they can do the same. And in that case, there can be no stable will of the people that can possibly be revealed by voting (in, say, a legislature). So, how can meaning and stability be restored to democracy? There are essentially two mechanisms, once dictatorship is ruled out. The first is what rational choice theorist Kenneth Shepsle calls “structure induced equilibrium,” under which formal rules and informal understandings restrict strategizing, including the ability to manipulate agendas and the order in which votes are taken. 9 The second is deliberation.

Political theorist David Miller and, later, John Dryzek and political philosopher Christian List have demonstrated formally that deliberation can, among other responses: 1) induce agreement to restrict the ability of actors to introduce new options that destabilize the decision process and 2) structure the preferences of participants such that they become “single-peaked” along one dimension, thus reducing the prevalence of manipulable cycles across alternatives (in which option A beats B in a majority vote, B beats C, and C beats A). 10 Empirical research confirms this effect. 11

This result explains why all democratic settings, in practice, feature some combination of communication, which can be more or less deliberative, and formal and informal rules. The more deliberative the communication, the better democracy works. Democracy must be deliberative.

Deliberation is more than discussion . Deliberative democracy is talk-centric. But talk alone can be pathological, producing wildly mixed results from an ideal deliberative perspective. 12 Resolution here requires distinguishing carefully between deliberation and discussion.

Empirical observation reveals that deliberation is more complex than originally theorized, involving both dispositional and procedural components. The purely procedural rationalist model of deliberation is normatively problematic because it is empirically questionable. 13 Distinguishing between deliberation and discussion introduces an emotional dimension in which dispositional factors, such as open-mindedness, are important. 14

The overall content of this disposition has more recently been referred to as the “deliberative stance,” which political theorists David Owen and Graham Smith have defined as “a relation to others as equals engaged in mutual exchange of reasons oriented as if to reaching a shared practical judgement.” 15 Achieving a deliberative stance in citizen deliberation involves careful facilitation and attention to “emotional interaction.” 16 Its achievement in group settings can be a pleasurable experience and consistent with ideals of human cognition. 17 Scaling these effects up to the wider deliberative system requires careful attention to institutional settings. 18

Deliberative democracy involves multiple sorts of communication . Some democrats have charged deliberative democracy with being overly rationalistic. For political scientist Lynn Sanders, deliberation works undemocratically for it excludes “those who are less likely to present their arguments in ways that we recognize as characteristically deliberative.” 19 Sanders refers to women, racial minorities, and the poor, whose speech cultures depart from “rationalist” forms of discourse that privilege dispassionate argumentation, logical coherence, and evidence-based claims as practiced in the most exclusive kinds of scholarly debates, parliamentary procedures, and judicial argumentation. A similar kind of critique has been raised by political theorist Chantal Mouffe, who criticizes deliberative democrats for missing the crucial role that passion plays in politics and for emphasizing the rationalism of liberal democratic political thought. 20

Deliberative democrats have responded by foregrounding the varied articulations of reason-giving and consensus requirements of deliberation. Most have acknowledged political philosopher Iris Young’s conception of “communicative democracy” and have conditionally embraced greeting, rhetoric, humor, testimonies, storytelling, and other sorts of communication. 21 Even the originally somewhat rationalistic criteria of the widely used Discourse Quality Index have evolved to include storytelling as one indicator, recognizing the importance of personal narratives in political claim-making. 22 Recent developments in deliberative theory have begun to recognize the plurality of speech cultures. The turn to deliberative systems has emphasized multiple sites of communication, each of which can host various forms of speech that can enrich the inclusive character of a deliberative system. The increasing attention paid to deliberative cultures is also part of this trajectory, in which systems of meanings and norms in diverse cultural contexts are unpacked to understand the different ways political agents take part in deliberative politics. 23

Deliberation is for all . The charge of elitism was one of the earliest criticisms of deliberative democratic theory: that only privileged, educated citizens have access to the language and procedures of deliberation. However, empirical research has established the inclusive, rather than elitist, character of deliberative democracy.

Findings in deliberative experiments suggest that deliberation can temper rather than reinforce elite power. Political scientists James Druckman and Kjersten Nelson have shown how citizen conversations can vitiate the influence of elite framing. 24 Simon Niemeyer has shown how deliberative mini-publics, such as citizens’ juries (composed of a relatively small number of lay citizens), can see through “symbolic politics” and elite manipulation of public discourse through spin doctoring. 25 Real-world deliberative processes provide considerable evidence on deliberation’s potential to build capacities of traditionally marginalized groups. Economist Vijayendra Rao and sociologist Paromita Sanyal’s work on gram sabhas in South India is a landmark study, demonstrating village-level deliberations’ capacity to mobilize civic agency among the poor, counteracting resource scarcity and social stratification. 26 Brazil’s National Public Policy Conferences – one of the biggest nationally successful exercises in public deliberation – illustrate how ordinary citizens influence public policy once they acquire the opportunity to take part in consequential deliberation. 27

These examples illustrate deliberative democracy’s record in curtailing, rather than perpetuating, elite domination by creating space for ordinary political actors to create, contest, and reflect upon ideas, options, and discourses.

Deliberative democracy has a nuanced view of power . Early critics of deliberative democracy worried about its political naiveté, particularly its neglect of power and strategy. 28 However, deliberative democracy is not naive about power, but rather has a nuanced approach to it.

In the deliberative ideal, coercive forms of power, defined as the threat of sanction or use of force against another’s interests, are absent because they distort communication. 29 But deliberative practice reveals that coercive power is ubiquitous: it pervades the very process of argumentation and communication, affects the remit and organization of deliberative procedures, and shapes the broader policy context. 30 Procedural designs can, however, limit coercive power by, for example, selecting participants that are less partisan, using independent facilitators, or ensuring deliberations are public.

Empowering or generative forms of power are central to the communicative force of deliberative governance. 31 Authoritative power is also necessary for deliberative democracy, which requires leaders who are receptive to the concerns of affected publics and have the legitimate authority to consider and act on the public’s preferences and concerns. 32 Actors in and around deliberative processes can also strategize to advance agendas and address inequalities. 33

Deliberative democrats recognize that coercive power pervades social relations, but understand that certain kinds of power are needed to maintain order in a deliberative process, to address inequalities, and to implement decisions. 34

Productive deliberation is plural, not consensual . A seeming commitment to the pursuit of consensus – that is, agreement on both a course of action and the reasons for it – once provided a target for critics of deliberative democracy, who stressed its other-worldly character and silencing of dissident voices. 35 However, contrary to these arguments, deliberative democrats have rarely endorsed consensus as an aspiration for real-world decision-making (as opposed to one theoretical reference point).

Decision-making in deliberative democracy can involve voting, negotiation, or workable agreements that entail agreement on a course of action, but not on the reasons for it. All of these benefit from deliberation, which can involve clarification of the sources of disagreement, and understanding the reasons of others. Rather than consensus, deliberation should recognize pluralism and strive for metaconsensus, which involves mutual recognition of the legitimacy of the different values, preferences, judgments, and discourses held by other participants. 36

At first sight, this acceptance of pluralism and metaconsensus might seem to contradict the findings of political scientist Jürg Steiner and colleagues that the more consensual a system of government, the better the quality of deliberation that occurs in its legislature. Consensual democracies – notably the Nordic countries, The Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland – are also arguably the world’s most successful states on a variety of indicators, suggesting a strong correlation between deliberation and public policy success, though correlation here does not necessarily imply causality. However, the concept of consensual liberal democratic states (as opposed to adversarial ) does not imply consensus in the strong sense we identified. Consensual states are still pluralistic, but their pluralism is channeled into workable agreements, not adversarial point-scoring.

Participation and deliberation go together . A sharp distinction between participation and deliberation is drawn by political theorist Carole Pateman, who argues that deliberative democrats have shown “little interest in the last thirty years of participatory promotion” and instead focus on mini-publics or “new deliberative bodies.” 37

This distinction misfires. First, while it is true that a large number of deliberative scholars research mini-publics, these studies are motivated by the desire to better understand how lessons learned from small-scale deliberative forums can be scaled up to mass democracies and enhance the quality of political participation. So, for example, John Dryzek and ecological economist Alex Lo have shown how particular rhetorical moves can increase the quality of reasoning in a mini-public, which has direct implications for how climate change should be communicated in the public sphere (further examples will be provided in our discussions of time, group polarization, and divided societies). 38 Mini-publics, in other words, are not valorized as democratic practice par excellence, but rather are used as a tool to democratize other facets of political life and deepen the quality of political participation.

Second, the political projects of participatory and deliberative democracy are intimately linked. Pateman’s aspirations for a “participatory society,” in which various aspects of our social and political lives are democratized, are not distinct from deliberative democrats’ vision of a society in which all citizens affected by a decision have capacities and opportunities to deliberate in the public sphere. 39 This has been articulated by “macro” deliberative theorists, whose focus is to improve the quality of political participation in the public sphere, whether online or offline, mediated or face-to-face, such that citizens can affect political processes on issues they care about.

Deliberative transformation takes time . Deliberation by definition requires amenability to preference transformation, but such transformation may not be a good measure of the quality of deliberation. 40 While large changes in preferences can occur early in deliberative processes, this change can reflect anticipation of absorbing information and group deliberation as much as the effect of deliberation proper. 41

The goal of deliberation is for citizens to determine reflectively not only preferences, but also the reasons that support them. 42 As we have already noted, at the group level, this involves the formation of a kind of metaconsensus featuring mutual recognition of the manner in which beliefs and values map onto preferences. 43

This process takes time and deliberation does not necessarily follow a smooth path. Initial changes to preferences can even be partially reversed. The initial opening up of minds (as part of taking a deliberative stance) and uptake of information represents a dramatic threshold in the transition toward deliberation proper, producing changes that represent catharsis as much as deliberation. It is subsequent reflection that produces deliberative preferences, only after the stance is achieved. 44 Consequently, reported results from very short deliberative processes may only reflect the path toward, rather than the result of, deliberation. True deliberative transformation takes longer than that.

Deliberation is the solution to group polarization . Cass Sunstein has claimed that a “law of group polarization” causes “deliberative trouble.” 45 For if a group is made up of people whose opinions range from moderate to extreme on an issue, after deliberation, the group’s average position will be closer to the extreme. Thus, deliberation leads to unhealthy political polarization. There are three reasons why deliberative democracy does not succumb to this.

First, polarization depends crucially on group homogeneity, in which initial opinions vary from moderate to extreme in a single direction, such as the degree of denial of climate science or the degree of support for public education. For anyone designing a deliberative forum, the solution is simple: make sure there are participants from different sides on an issue. James Fishkin says this is exactly how his deliberative opinion polls resist polarization: a random selection of participants ensures a variety of initial views. 46

Second, what Sunstein describes as polarization could, in many cases, be described as clarity. This is especially important for oppressed groups struggling to find a voice. 47 Talk with like-minded others can give people, individually and collectively, the confidence subsequently to enter the larger public sphere; enclave deliberation can have positive effects in the deliberative system.

Third, political scientist Kimmo Grönlund and colleagues have demonstrated that polarization only applies under unstructured conversation; 48 polarization is not found when groups are run on standard deliberative principles with a facilitator. Their experiment involved citizens deliberating immigration in Finland, and after deliberation, a group that was moderately to extremely hostile to immigrants shifted toward a generally more tolerant opinion. After unstructured discussion, a similar group was, on average, more extreme. Deliberation does, then, provide solutions to group polarization, most obviously when it moves beyond unstructured discussion.

Deliberative democracy applies to deeply divided societies . Deeply divided societies characterized by mutually exclusive religious, national, racial, or ethnic identity claims challenge any kind of democratic politics, including deliberative politics, which some skeptics believe belongs only in more orderly and less fraught settings. Popular political solutions for deeply divided societies instead involve power-sharing negotiated by elites from different blocs, leaving no space for public deliberation (indeed, communication of any sort) across the divide. 49

There is, however, growing empirical evidence showing that deliberative practices can flourish in deeply divided societies to good effect, be it in association with, or at some distance from, power-sharing arrangements. Evidence comes from formats ranging from mixed-identity discussion groups located in civil society to more structured citizen forums with participants from different sides. 50 Mini-public experiments on deeply divided societies, for example, generate crucial lessons on how conversations in the public sphere can be organized in such a way that they aid in forging mutual respect and understanding across discursive enclaves. As political scientist Robert Luskin and colleagues have noted, once assembled, conflicting groups in divided societies can “have enough in common to permit meaningful and constructive deliberation.” 51 Such deliberation can promote recognition, mutual understanding, social learning about the other side, and even solidarity across deep differences. 52

Deliberative processes have been applied in divided societies such as South Africa, Turkey, Bosnia, Belgium, and Northern Ireland. Given the depth of the disagreement among conflicting groups, deliberative practices do not seek or yield consensus (understood as universal agreement both on a course of action and the reasons for it), but they play a crucial role in terms of “working agreements” across the parties to a conflict. Under the right conditions, deliberation in divided societies can help to bridge the deep conflicts across religious, national, racial, and ethnic lines.

Deliberative research productively deploys diverse methods . Standard social science methods, such as surveys and psychological experiments, are often used to study deliberation. However, they do not do full justice to the ability of deliberators to develop their own understanding of contexts, which can extend to the kinds of social science instruments that are appropriate and to questions that should be asked. Standard methods have a hard time capturing these dynamic aspects of deliberative opinion formation, and they tell us nothing about the broader political or social context in which public deliberation occurs. 53

Innovative quantitative methods have been developed to remedy these shortcomings: 54 they can involve analyzing the content of deliberations to assess deliberative practice against normative standards, to measure the quality of deliberation, and to evaluate the intersubjective consistency of deliberators across preferences and values. 55 Qualitative and interpretive methods have also generated empirical insights into public deliberation, particularly through in-depth case studies. Methods such as in-depth interviews and observation have been used to examine the views and behavior of political actors in and around deliberative forums. 56 Frame and narrative analysis have been used to map discourses and analyze the communicative dynamics of deliberative systems. 57

Deliberative democracy scholars deploy multiple research methods to shed light on diverse aspects of public deliberation in practice. Those who insist on using conventional social science methods must recognize that their results should be interpreted in light of this broader array of methods and the breadth of understanding so enabled.

W e have surveyed what we believe to be a number of key resolved issues in the theory, study, and practice of deliberative democracy. In a number of cases, we have replied to critics skeptical of the desirability, possibility, and applicability of deliberative democracy. Our intent is not, however, to silence critics. Rather, we hope that their efforts can be more tightly focused on the real vulnerabilities of the project, rather than its imagined or discarded features. However, we suspect that, in practice, our summary of key findings will be more useful to those seeking to advance or study the project, rather than those trying to refute it. For these scholars and practitioners, identifying the resolved issues will leave them free to concentrate on unresolved issues.

1 John Mueller, Capitalism, Democracy, and Ralph’s Pretty Good Grocery (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999); and Daniel A. Bell, “Democratic Deliberation: The Problem of Implementation,” in Deliberative Politics: Essays on Democracy and Disagreement , ed. Stephen Macedo (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 71–87.

2 Stephen A. Coleman, Anna Przybylska, and Yves Sintomer, eds., Deliberation and Democracy: Innovative Processes and Institutions (New York: Peter Lang, 2015).

3 Tina Nabatchi, John Gastil, G. Michael Weiksner, and Matt Leighninger, eds., Democracy in Motion: Evaluating the Practice and Impact of Deliberative Civic Engagement (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).

4 Gregory Barrett, Miriam Wyman, and Vera Schatten, “Assessing Policy Impacts of Deliberative Civic Engagement,” in ibid., 181–203.

5 Carolyn M. Hendriks, “Coupling Citizens and Elites in Deliberative Systems: The Role of Institutional Design,” European Journal of Political Research 55 (1) (2016): 43–60.

6 See Nabatchi et al., Democracy in Motion.

7 John Parkinson and Jane Mansbridge, eds., Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at the Large Scale (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).

8 William H. Riker, Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation Between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice (San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1982).

9 Kenneth A. Shepsle, “Institutional Agreements and Equilibrium in Multidimensional Voting Models,” American Journal of Political Science 23 (1) (1979): 27–59.

10 David Miller, “Deliberative Democracy and Social Choice,” Political Studies 40 (1) (1992): 54–67; and John S. Dryzek and Christian List, “Social Choice Theory and Deliberative Democracy: A Reconciliation,” British Journal of Political Science 33 (1) (2003): 1–23.

11 Christian List, Robert C. Luskin, James S. Fishkin, and Iain McLean, “Deliberation, Single-Peakedness, and the Possibility of Meaningful Democracy,” Journal of Politics 75 (1) (2013): 80–95.

12 Tali Mendelberg, “The Deliberative Citizen: Theory and Evidence,” in Political Decision Making, Deliberation and Participation: Research in Micropolitics , vol. 6, ed. Michael X. Delli Carpini, Leonie Huddy, and Robert Y. Shapiro (Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 2002), 151–193.

13 Iris Marion Young, “Justice, Inclusion, and Deliberative Democracy,” in Deliberative Politics , ed. Macedo, 151–158.

14 George Loewenstein, Ted O’Donoughue, and Sudeep Bhatia, “Modelling the Interplay Between Affect and Deliberation,” Decision 2 (2) (2015): 55–81; and Jason Barabas, “How Deliberation Affects Policy Opinions,” American Political Science Review 98 (4) (2004): 687–701.

15 David Owen and Graham Smith, “Survey Article: Deliberation, Democracy, and the Systemic Turn,” Journal of Political Philosophy 23 (2) (2015): 228.

16 Jane Mansbridge, Janette Hartz-Karp, Matthew Amengual, and John Gastil, “Norms of Deliberation: An Inductive Study,” Journal of Public Deliberation 2 (1) (2006).

17 Hugo Mercier and Hélène E. Landemore, “Reasoning is for Arguing: Understanding the Successes and Failures of Deliberation,” Political Psychology 33 (2) (2012): 243–258.

18 Simon J. Niemeyer, “Scaling Up Deliberation to Mass Publics: Harnessing Mini-Publics in a Deliberative System,” in Deliberative Mini-Publics: Practices, Promises, Pitfalls , ed. Kimmo Grönlund, André Bächtiger, and Maija Setälä (Colchester, United Kingdom: ECPR Press, 2014).

19 Lynn M. Sanders, “Against Deliberation,” Political Theory 25 (3) (1997): 349.

20 Chantal Mouffe, “Politics and Passions: The Stakes of Democracy,” Ethical Perspectives 7 (2/3) (2000): 146–150.

21 Iris Marion Young, “Difference as a Resource for Democratic Communication,” in Deliberative Democracy: Essays on Reason and Politics , ed. James F. Bohman and William Rehg (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1997), 383–406.

22 Jürg Steiner, André Bächtiger, Markus Spörndli, and Marco Steenbergen, Deliberative Politics in Action: Analyzing Parliamentary Discourse (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).

23 Jensen Sass and John S. Dryzek, “Deliberative Cultures,” Political Theory 42 (1) (2014): 3–25.

24 James N. Druckman and Kjersten R. Nelson, “Framing and Deliberation: How Citizens’ Conversations Limit Elite Influence,” American Journal of Political Science 47 (4) (2003): 729–745.

25 Simon J. Niemeyer, “The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation: Empirical Lessons from Mini-Publics,” Politics & Society 39 (1) (2011): 103–140.

26 Vijayendra Rao and Paromita Sanyal, “Dignity Through Discourse: Poverty and the Culture of Deliberation in Indian Village Democracies,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 629 (1) (2010): 146–172.

27 Thamy Pogrebinschi and David Samuels, “The Impact of Participatory Democracy: Evidence from Brazil’s National Public Policy Conferences,” Comparative Politics 46 (2014): 313–332.

28 Ian Shapiro, “Enough of Deliberation: Politics is About Interests and Power,” in Deliberative Politics , ed. Macedo, 28–38.

29 Jane Mansbridge, James Bohman, Simone Chambers, et al., “The Place of Self-Interest and the Role of Power in Deliberative Democracy,” Journal of Political Philosophy 18 (1) (2010): 64–100.

30 Carolyn M. Hendriks, “Deliberative Governance in the Context of Power,” Policy and Society 28 (3) (2009): 173–184.

32 Jonathan W. Kuyper, “Deliberative Democracy and the Neglected Dimension of Leadership,” Journal of Public Deliberation 8 (1) (2012).

33 Jennifer Dodge, “Environmental Justice and Deliberative Democracy: How Social Change Organizations Respond to Power in the Deliberative System,” Policy and Society 28 (3) (2009): 225–239.

34 See Mansbridge et al., “The Place of Self-Interest and the Role of Power in Deliberative Democracy.”

35 Iris Marion Young, “Communication and the Other: Beyond Deliberative Democracy,” in Democracy and Difference: Contesting the Boundaries of the Political , ed. Seyla Benhabib (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996), 120–135; and Aletta J. Norval, Aversive Democracy: Inheritance and Originality in the Democratic Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007).

36 John S. Dryzek and Simon J. Niemeyer, “Reconciling Pluralism and Consensus as Political Ideals,” American Journal of Political Science 50 (3) (2006): 634–649.

37 Carole Pateman, “Participatory Democracy Revisited,” Perspectives on Politics 10 (1) (2012): 8.

38 John S. Dryzek and Alex Y. Lo, “Reason and Rhetoric in Climate Communication,” Environmental Politics 24 (1) (2015): 1–16.

39 Pateman, “Participatory Democracy Revisited,” 10.

40 Lucio Baccaro, André Bächtiger, and Marion Deville, “Small Differences that Matter: The Impact of Discussion Modalities on Deliberative Outcomes,” British Journal of Political Science 46 (3) (2016).

41 Robert E. Goodin and Simon J. Niemeyer, “When Does Deliberation Begin? Internal Reflection versus Public Discussion in Deliberative Democracy,” Political Studies 51 (4) (2003): 627–649.

42 Bernard Manin, “On Legitimacy and Political Deliberation,” Political Theory 15 (3) (1987): 338–368.

43 See also Simon Niemeyer and John S. Dryzek, “The Ends of Deliberation: Metaconsensus and Intersubjective Rationality as Deliberative Ideals,” Swiss Political Science Review 13 (4) (2007): 497–526.

44 Simon J. Niemeyer, “When Does Deliberation Really Begin?” working paper series (Canberra, Australia: Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, 2016).

45 Cass R. Sunstein, “Deliberative Trouble: Why Groups Go to Extremes,” Yale Law Journal 110 (1) (2000): 71–119.

46 James Fishkin, When the People Speak: Deliberative Democracy and Public Consultation (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 131–132.

47 Christopher F. Karpowitz, Raphael Chad, and Allen S. Hammond, “Deliberative Democracy and Inequality: Two Cheers for Enclave Deliberation among the Disempowered,” Politics & Society 37 (4) (2009): 576–615.

48 Kimmo Grönlund, Herne Kaisa, and Maija Setälä, “Does Enclave Deliberation Polarize Opinions?” Political Behavior 37 (4) (2015): 995–1020.

49 Arend Lijphart, Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1977).

50 Ian O’Flynn, “Divided Societies and Deliberative Democracy,” British Journal of Political Science 37 (4) (2007): 731–751.

51 Robert C. Luskin, Ian O’Flynn, James S. Fishkin, and David Russell, “Deliberating across Deep Divides,” Political Studies 62 (1) (2014): 117.

52 Bora Kanra, Islam, Democracy, and Dialogue in Turkey: Deliberating in Divided Societies (Aldershot, United Kingdom: Ashgate, 2009); and George Vasilev, Solidarity across Divides: Promoting the Moral Point of View (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015).

53 John S. Dryzek, “Handle with Care: The Deadly Hermeneutics of Deliberative Instrumentation,” Acta Politica 40 (2) (2005): 197–211; and Selen A. Ercan, Carolyn M. Hendriks, and John Boswell, “Studying Public Deliberation After the Systemic Turn: The Crucial Role for Interpretive Research,” Politics & Policy 45 (2) (2017): 195–218.

54 Laura W. Black, Stephanie Burkhalter, John Gastil, and Jennifer Stromer-Galley, “Methods for Analyzing and Measuring Group Deliberation,” in The Sourcebook of Political Communication Research: Methods, Measures, and Analytical Techniques , ed. R. Lance Holbert (New York: Routledge, 2009), 323–345.

55 See, for example, Katharina Holzinger, “Kommunikationsmodi und Handlungstypen in den Internationalen Beziehungen. Anmerkungen zu einigen irreführenden Dichotomien,” Zeitschrift Für Internationale Beziehungen 8 (2) (2001): 243–286; Steiner et al., Deliberative Politics in Action ; and Niemeyer, “The Emancipatory Effect of Deliberation.”

56 Carolyn M. Hendriks, “Praxis Stories: Experiencing Interpretive Policy Research,” Critical Policy Analysis 1 (3) (2007): 278–300.

57 John Boswell, Carolyn M. Hendriks, and Selen A. Ercan, “Message Received? Examining Transmission in Deliberative Systems,” Critical Policy Studies 10 (3) (2016): 263–283; and Ercan et al., “Studying Public Deliberation After the Systemic Turn.”

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What can Americans do to protect our democracy? "The 2020 election showed the resilience of the fact-based part of the election administration system — election administrators, judges, and research institutions (including universities) — that have stood for the rule of law in the face of illiberal attacks on election administration. Opponents of fair elections recognize this and have attacked all parts of this fact-based bulwark." More

DEMOCRACY | HUMAN RIGHTS

Rt. Hon. David Miliband SM ’90 receives the 2021 Robert A. Muh Alumni Award  

His award lecture proposes an "accountability agenda" to restore respect for human rights, democratic norms, and the rights of civilians in combat zones. More

MAKING A JUST SOCIETY

Advancing social justice through music and media  

It Must Be Now!  explores subject matter that includes institutional racism; environmental, economic, gender, and health injustices; police brutality; and abolitionism. More

What’s Next? Challenges Ahead for the Biden Administration  

A series of essays by MIT SHASS scholars, including: Melissa Nobles, Taylor Fravel, Vipin Narang, Dick Samuels, Elizabeth Wood, Barry Posen, Richard Samuels, and John Tirman. More

The permanent struggle for liberty    

Daron Acemoglu’s new book examines the battle between state and society, which occasionally produces liberal-democratic freedom. More

3Q with historian and Russia expert Elizabeth Wood  

How do we understand Russia’s multi-layered interference in the 2016 Elections? MIT historian and Russia expert Elizabeth Wood analyzes Russia’s motives. More

3Q: In Song Kim’s LobbyView.org shines a bright light on Washington lobbying  

LobbyView.org makes it simple to follow the path of money in politics. More

CITIZENSHIP | IMPACT OF LANGUAGE

Applying philosophy for a better democracy  

In a new philosophy class, MIT students explore how language affects censorship, dissent, lies, and propaganda. More

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1 Researching Deliberative Democracy: Methods and Approaches

• Published: October 2022
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Research on deliberative democracy has been flourishing over the past decades. We now know more about the conditions that enable or hinder inclusive and consequential deliberation, and how different actors, such as politicians, activists, and citizens, perceive and experience deliberative practices. Yet there are still many unknowns that drive research in deliberative democracy, especially as the field continues to develop in new directions and seeks to offer remedies for the problems democracies face today. This chapter unpacks what deliberative democracy research is, what it involves, and how we might go about conducting it. It discusses how the normative theory interacts with empirical research and how the deliberative ideals shape the practice and purpose of research. The chapter makes a case for methodological and epistemological diversity and outlines thirty-one different methods for theorizing, measuring, exploring, or applying deliberative democracy.

As the field of deliberative democracy continues to grow, methodological questions loom large: Which methods are a good fit for the study of deliberative democracy? How can we translate normative theory into empirical research? Can the methods used for the study of deliberation in small-scale settings be used to assess deliberation at the large scale?

This book aims to answer these and many other questions and showcase a variety of methods and approaches used in deliberative democracy research. We identify the strengths and limitations of each method and reflect on how different methods can be combined to generate a comprehensive and multidimensional account of deliberative democracy. As editors of this book, our goal is both ambitious and modest. It is ambitious insofar as we hope to provide a ‘go-to resource’ for anyone wishing to study deliberative democracy. It is modest insofar as we recognize that this book, or any book for that matter, can never be complete in its coverage of methods, especially in a dynamic and growing field of study. Nevertheless, we have put our best efforts into curating a volume that features both established and emerging methods for researching deliberative democracy.

There are more than thirty methods covered in this book, approaching the study of deliberative democracy from different angles and engaging with different kinds of research questions and agendas. Some methods zero in on specific characteristics of deliberative practices, while others address broader questions in the field. By bringing all these diverse methods together, the book aims to practice what deliberative democracy preaches: enabling reflection and advancing critical engagement across different perspectives. We hope that our readers receive this book as an invitation to reflect on, evaluate, and articulate their assumptions about what deliberative democracy is and how it can be studied. At the same time, we hope that it encourages them to engage across different methods and approaches and contribute to the development of deliberative democracy as an innovative, reflexive, and inclusive field of study.

We begin this chapter by providing a brief overview of deliberative democracy research and explaining how the normative theory interacts with empirical research in the field. This is followed by a discussion of how deliberative ideals shape the practice and purpose of research. We show how scholars from different disciplinary and methodological backgrounds go about researching deliberative democracy and outline the key approaches and methods they employ. The chapter concludes with an overview of thirty-one different methods included in this volume. We hope that upon reading this book, or parts of it, readers will feel inspired to undertake research on deliberative democracy and thus advance the capacity of the field to address the problems facing contemporary democracies.

Bridging Normative Theory and Empirical Research

Deliberative democracy is a political ideal where ‘people come together on the basis of equal status and mutual respect, to discuss the political issues they face, and, on the basis of those discussions, decide on the policies that will then affect their lives’ ( Bächtiger et al. 2019 , 2). It is a normative theory about how collective decisions ought to be made ( Habermas 1992 ), as well as a political project that advances practical ways of moving contemporary societies in a deliberative direction ( Curato et al. 2018 ). Over the past two decades, we have witnessed various practical applications of deliberative democracy, from the ‘wave’ of deliberative mini-publics around the world to social movements’ deliberative decision-making and authoritarian regimes using deliberative processes to listen to the people ( della Porta and Rucht 2013 ; He and Warren 2011 ; OECD 2020 ). The rise of deliberative practices in diverse settings and different countries offers a rich ground for researchers to conduct theoretical and empirical research on deliberative democracy, while also raising significant methodological questions.

One central methodological question in the field of deliberative democracy is how to bridge normative theory and empirical research. Normative theory is about the question of ‘what ought to be’, whereas empirical research focuses on ‘what is actually happening’. There were several key debates within the field, which sought to clarify the relationship between normative theory and empirical research ( Mutz 2008 ; Neblo 2005 ; Thompson 2008 ). While sceptics may view the normative nature of deliberative democracy as a sign of its inapplicability to an imperfect world, empirical researchers have shown various ways in which normative theory interacts with real-world politics, and how this interaction can further both theory and practice.

Some scholars use normative theory to develop hypotheses to be empirically tested (see, for example, Grönlund et al. 2010 ). They draw on deliberative ideals to create experimental settings to test the conditions required for successful deliberation and explore ways to improve deliberative quality. For example, they investigate whether the introduction of deliberative norms in like-minded discussions alleviates group polarization ( Strandberg et al. 2019 ). Others conduct experiments in ‘real-world’ settings with ‘real-world’ actors, such as elected officials. Drawing on deliberative ideals, Michael Neblo and his colleagues (2018) , for example, design deliberative town halls where citizens meet and interact over the Internet with their elected representatives. In these studies, the normative theory of deliberative democracy serves as a key starting point informing experimental design, and the hypotheses to be tested in the course of these experiments.

Other scholars use the normative ideals of deliberative democracy as a framework for interpreting or assessing the political dynamics in existing democracies (e.g. Fan 2020 ; Hendriks et al. 2020 ). Taking the ideal conditions for deliberation as their benchmark, they examine the deliberative quality of discussion in both small groups and the broader public sphere. They have, for example, investigated the large-scale processes of deliberation on various issues such as climate governance ( Stevenson and Dryzek 2014 ), LGBT equality ( Barvosa 2018 ), and animal rights ( Parry 2017 ). Meanwhile, some scholars take an inductive approach, and use empirical work to sharpen deliberative theory’s normative claims ( Doerr 2018 ; Curato 2019 ; Asenbaum, Chapter 5 in this volume) or use empirical research to bring deliberative democracy’s principles to life (e.g. Cunningham and Tamale, Chapter 30 in this volume).

These studies and many others show that normative theory and empirical research can be combined in ways that advance both. The field moves back and forth, between theory and empirics, resulting in their mutual enrichment. Empirical research can throw new light on the normative questions that deliberative democrats are grappling with. The insights gained from the close study of deliberative practices (in both real-life and experimental settings) help ‘in the process of identifying normative principles themselves’ ( Bächtiger 2019 , 657). Take, for example, Nicole Doerr’s (2018) ethnographic research on political translation. Doerr makes a case for the role of translators not as ‘neutral’ actors in a deliberative process but as disruptors, or the ‘third voice’ for marginalized participants to be heard and understood. In this regard, Doerr’s work challenges deliberative theory’s assumptions about the virtue of neutrality in facilitating deliberation, and instead emphasizes the need for challenging structures of inequality for deliberative goals to be realized.

This approach to empirical research and theoretical refinement speaks to John Dryzek’s call to use empirical research to refine the theory and make it ‘more sensitive to real-world constraints and opportunities’ ( Dryzek 2007 , 240). In this sense, theoretical ideals should not be viewed as fixed but as contingent points of orientation that, informed by empirical experience, adapt, mature, and change over time. Empirical research enables us to capture what has not been theorized before and hence produce new ideals and contribute to the development of what Simone Chambers calls ‘critical applied theories’ (Chambers, Chapter 2 in this volume).

Diversity of Research Methods

The development and refinement of deliberative ideals is driven by a variety of theoretical and empirical methods. The field draws on established methods such as survey research, field experiments, ethnography, or narrative analysis. At the same time, it also creates new methods of its own. The Discourse Quality Index (DQI) is one of the best-known methods specifically designed to operationalize norms of deliberation as conceptualized by Habermas’s normative theory. It originally sought to provide a tool for the measurement and comparison of the deliberativeness of parliamentary debates ( Bächtiger et al. 2005 ; Steiner et al. 2004 ), although it has also been applied to assess the quality of deliberative mini-publics amongst lay citizens ( Himmelroos 2017 ). Other specific methods developed in the field include the Deliberative Reason Index (Niemeyer and Veri, Chapter 7 in this volume), the Listening Quality Index (Scudder, Chapter 8 in this volume), and the Online Deliberative Matrix (Kies, Chapter 10 in this volume). These methods point to the relevance of constant innovation in deliberative democracy research.

The scholarship on deliberative democracy is built on a diverse epistemic community. This diversity is reflected in the methods included in this book. Scholars from various research traditions, disciplinary backgrounds, and geographic expertise present the methods they use while researching deliberative democracy. These include the methods used not only by empirically oriented scholars, but also those adopted by political theorists. While questions of methods are often thought to be something only empirical scholars should worry about, we show that theoretically oriented scholars also need methods (Chambers, Chapter 2 in this volume). The book offers a glimpse into the toolboxes of both theoretical and empirical scholars of deliberative democracy and presents the methods, and approaches they use for researching deliberative democracy. Theorists, political scientists, sociologists, policy analysts, and communication scholars contribute to the volume by presenting a distinctive angle on how deliberative democracy can be researched and further improved. They showcase examples of deliberation happening not only in structured forums or face-to-face settings, but also in the messy public sphere, in and through various media outlets, the Internet, social movements and everyday conversations. They offer a variety of methods and approaches that can be used to study not only textual and verbal communication but also nonverbal communication including visuals, colours, sound, silence, presence or absence in public deliberation (Ercan and Hendriks, Chapter 22 in this volume, Mendonça et al 2022 )

Some may find it perplexing that there are many methodological possibilities for researching deliberation, and yet no single approach is agreed to be the best. There are also different comprehensions of deliberative democracy. Diana Mutz (2008, 525) may have been exaggerating when she stated that ‘there are as many definitions of deliberation as there are theorists’; nevertheless, it is accurate to say that there has been an expansion of conceptual approaches and interpretations of deliberative democracy over the years ( Bächtiger and Hangartner 2010 ). This raises concerns about ‘concept stretching’, and a worry that normative theory will lose its prescriptive force ( Goodin 2018 , 883). In response to this danger, Robert Goodin suggests distinguishing between different kinds of concept stretching, and accepting only those that are good for deliberative theory. In his view, we may stretch the original vision of deliberative democracy (developed by Habermas) for the purposes of making it ‘more democratic’ (meaning more inclusive), ‘more deliberative’ (meaning open to relevant information, and better informed), or ‘more realistic’ (meaning more applicable to the real world). These three conditions can be read as the shared commitments of deliberative democracy scholarship. What scholars share is not a rigid definition of deliberation, but a set of commitments that drive research and progress in the field.

Rather than searching for ‘the correct definition of deliberation’, we could understand deliberation as contingent, dependent on different contexts and goals, as suggested by André Bächtiger and John Parkinson (2019) . On this account, the conditions for ‘good deliberation’ change depending on whether we seek to realize them in formal institutions or the public sphere. Additionally, the ‘systemic turn’ brings new ways of characterizing and assessing deliberation by shifting the focus from structured forums to multiple other sites of deliberation ( Elstub et al. 2019 ; Steiner et al. 2017 ). Here, the conditions for good deliberation are defined more dynamically. In a healthy deliberative system, good deliberation is not necessarily evenly distributed; the low quality of deliberation in certain sites is compensated for by high-quality deliberation in other sites ( Dryzek 2009 ). More importantly, low deliberative quality may accompany or even be an integral part of protests or other political organizations that add information and draw attention to issues in the deliberative system ( Parry 2017 ). These suggestions open new ways of understanding and studying deliberation.

Despite the dynamism and progress of deliberative scholarship in the past decades, there is still a lot to do. More needs to be done, especially in sharpening the critical edge of our research agendas and broadening our sources of knowledge. For example, we, as editors of this book, recognize that we need to pay attention to the process of knowledge production, and work towards making it more inclusive and democratic (see Asenbaum, Chapter 5 in this volume). Scholars of critical race studies and feminist researchers have long criticized social science methods for using the logic of extraction where researchers ‘take, hit, and run’ ( Reinharz 1992 , 95). Deliberative democracy research is not immune from these critiques, for many of the methods we use are legacies of colonial traditions which we replicate as we study different societies ( Banerjee 2021 ; Morán and Ross 2021 ; also see Smith 1999 ). While most researchers do follow guidelines for ethical conduct in ensuring the safety and dignity of participants, we understand the wider demand that our research be a non-exploitative process that views people as participants in co-producing knowledge.

We also witness the emergence of movements to decolonize knowledge in different disciplines. Indeed, deliberative scholarship needs to re-examine its assumptions about the state, citizenship, and even its own core normative principles as hinged on a particularistic history of Western democracies. Finally, we recognize the domination of countries in the Global North as centres of knowledge production, although we now see increasing recognition of different centres of knowledge production in the field of deliberative democracy. Despite these and many other open questions, there is considerable scope for challenging deliberative democracy to continue evolving and realizing its emancipatory promise.

Practicing What We Preach: The Purpose of Deliberative Democracy Research

The scholarship on deliberative democracy is interested in thinking about ways to improve democratic practice in various settings, ranging from parliamentary debates to everyday conversations. The normative ideals of deliberative democracy not only provide an analytical framework that inform the generation and analysis of data, but also shape the purpose and process of research in important ways.

Just as feminist ideals shape the purpose and conduct of feminist research, for example by requiring researchers to reflect on the significance of gender and gender asymmetry in their work, and utilize their work for advancing women’s empowerment ( Fonow and Cook 2005 ), deliberative ideals such as inclusion, diversity, listening, or openness to new ideas shape the conduct and purpose of research in deliberative democracy. Deliberative democrats aim to problematize exclusions and marginalization or illegitimate decision-making in a democracy and create the conditions for meaningful political communication. They aim to fulfil the democratic ideal of emancipation by disturbing existing democratic practices and prioritizing inclusive forms of engagement ( Wojciechowska 2019 ). In this sense, the tradition of critical theory, in which the goal of knowledge production is emancipation from domination ( Hammond 2019 ; Mendonça 2013 ), is essential to deliberative democracy as a field, even though not all deliberative democrats see themselves as critical theorists. Critical theory, which originally emerged in the Institute for Social Research (or the ‘Frankfurt School’) in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, refers to a particular mode of research and analysis. For critical theorists, the purpose of scientific inquiry is to serve human as well as nonhuman interests and illuminate topics that ordinary people care about ( Smith 2002 ). This requires putting philosophical questions under the spotlight of empirical social science research, with the aim being to effect change in society and enable freedom from oppression.

Some scholars are more explicit than others about these normative commitments and their influence on the topics they choose to study, or the type of research they undertake. They explicate how deliberative norms shape their research and view this process of explanation as strengthening their research and its validity. In this volume, Genevieve Fuji Johnson argues that research informed by deliberative democratic theory cannot be a value-free exercise. The ethically appropriate role of a researcher is to stand in solidarity with groups, communities, and nations experiencing oppression and seeking justice as they define it. ‘Solidaristic research involves recognizing the privilege and power we have as scholars and deploying our resources of social capital, time, and mode toward ending forms of expression’ ( Johnson 2021 , 15). Johnson invites scholars of deliberative democracy to conduct solidaristic research, and take a stance in solidarity with, and empower particularly, those seeking racial justice, such as Indigenous peoples. We should do so, she argues, not simply to feel good about ourselves and our efforts but ‘to contribute constructively and purposefully towards their liberation and resurgence’ (Johnson, Chapter 4 in this volume). In her view, this is how researchers can help to fulfil the emancipatory ideals of deliberative democracy.

Not everybody might agree with this level of normative involvement on the part of researchers in the research process. Researchers can play different roles in deliberative democracy research ( Evans and Kotchetkova 2009 ). Sometimes their role is to design deliberative processes, other times their role involves evaluating these processes. Nevertheless, the attempt to practice what the field preaches remains a frequent feature of deliberative democracy research. Researchers, drawing on deliberative ideals, have engaged with pressing controversies, such as the abortion debate in Ireland, and established deliberative institutions to break the years of political deadlock facing this issue (Farrell and Suiter 2019) . The increasing popularity of citizens’ assemblies in Belgium, France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom speaks to a similar practical agenda. Deliberative democracy researchers are a key driver of this development; they advocate institutional reform that enables citizens to deliberate on political issues in an inclusive, reasoned, and consequential manner. (e.g. Curato et al. 2021 ; Farrell and Suiter 2019 ; Renwick et al. 2018 ).

Finally, some researchers draw on deliberative ideals within their own research and make research processes more deliberative. They do so by including themselves in a deliberative dialogue with their research participants. Ricardo Mendonça (2009) , for example, uses this kind of dialogue in his engagement with the dwellers of former leprosy colonies in Brazil. These dialogues enable him to unpack how people with leprosy articulate their suffering and grievances in everyday conversations and in interaction with each other. When informed by the principles of deliberative democracy, qualitative interviews can generate what Nicole Curato (2012) calls ‘intersubjective knowledge’. Such form of knowledge is developed ‘through a linguistic process of exchanging standpoints and bringing together different perspectives into a shared frame of understanding’ ( Curato 2012 , 577). Kei Nishiyama (2018) follows a similar path and seeks this kind of knowledge production, when he conducts group dialogue to unpack the lived experiences of high school students in Japan. Epistemological diversity, justification, and reflection are essential dispositions to research practice for these scholars and many others. Marit Hammond describes this approach as ‘activist deliberative democracy’, where the goal of researchers is not to provide solutions for laypeople but to treat them as ‘capable agents’ who diagnose their political problems and intervene to improve their situations ( Hammond 2019 , 801). The idea is that the research is done with, rather than on, participants ( Bussu et al. 2020 ). Such activist or participatory research approaches put the political project of deliberative democracy at the centre of creating knowledge about deliberative democracy.

Tackling Big Questions through Multiple Methods

Many questions drive deliberative democracy research as it continues to grow in new directions. It would be impossible to do justice to the rich variety of questions that the field raises in this introduction. Yet, based on the chapters included in this book, we have identified four sets of questions that drive research in the field and four corresponding research approaches: theorizing, measuring, exploring, and enacting deliberation (see Table 1.1 ).

The structure of the book reflects these four approaches in the study of deliberative democracy. These are, however, non-exhaustive categories. First, there are important and sometimes inevitable overlaps between the categories. Second, research in deliberative democracy entails many other activities, such as interpreting, evaluating, criticizing, and prescribing. Our four categories aim only to provide a heuristic to organize the multiplicity of research approaches and methods included in this book.

Theorizing is a significant part of deliberative democracy research. It takes various forms, from normative or critical theory to explanatory theory. Despite its significance, there is little guidance on how theorizing is done. Methods courses in political science, sociology or communication studies mostly involve training in empirical methods for data gathering, processing and analysis. They also involve exposure to key theoretical texts, but there is little, if any, guidance as to how theorizing is done. They seem to assume that if students read theory, they will learn to write theory. In the social science literature, the few accounts that instruct how to theorize ( Leopold and Stears 2008 ; Vincent 2004 ) are almost overwhelmed by the plethora of instruction on empirical methods. So how does theorizing work? What concrete steps does a theorist take in her research on deliberative democracy? How do theorists develop deliberative norms? This book presents concrete answers about the forms philosophical and theoretical engagement can take and how to employ empirical methods to develop deliberative theory (see Ackerly et al. 2021 ). As Jane Mansbridge (Chapter 33 in this volume) suggests, empirical researchers and practitioners can become theorists and theorists can become empirical researchers and practitioners.

Measuring allows researchers to develop and operationalize the indicators for good deliberation based on a normative framework. The normative elaboration of the moral principles of deliberation and their translation into empirical indicators needs mathematical abilities, logical rigour, and contextual sensibility as much as theoretical acuity. Measuring deliberation is an important empirical aspiration with several clear gains. First, it allows for research on a large number of cases, and the consequent capacity to reach generalizable findings. Second, measuring deliberation helps establish causal explanations. Third, measurement allows for comparability amongst cases, facilitating clear conclusions. Hence, measuring deliberation can help tell us what does and does not work in the real world. It is essential to building more effective deliberative practices and systems.

Exploring deliberation involves different ways of employing deliberative lenses to critically analyse the complexities and nuances of existing phenomena. Interpretive research methods are important in this regard ( Ercan et al. 2017 ). Their capacity for nuanced engagement with a smaller number of cases allows researchers to lay bare the dynamics of deliberative exchanges. These methods enable researchers to stumble upon novelty and uncover the unexpected. Although deliberative theory works as a guiding framework, deliberative norms are not fixed a priori. Rather, they inspire empirical researchers to explore how deliberation works in the real world and how deliberative ideals might be expanded or adjusted. Rather than accepting as given a pre-established, external reality, the process of exploring deliberation co-constructs deliberative realities through the engagement of researchers and research participants. Exploratory approaches also allow scholars to employ deliberative lens(es) to read and interpret a wide range of phenomena, such as the crisis of democracy, enabling them to redefine the problems and find possible solutions from a deliberative perspective ( Hendriks et al. 2020 ).

Finally, enacting deliberation in the context of research processes reconceptualizes research as a democratic activity. Realizing deliberation in the research process itself can include qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. At the heart of enacting deliberation is a new understanding of the role of researchers and research participants. Contemporary science increasingly acknowledges the social responsibility of researchers and makes central the real-world relevance of research. Yet, understanding researchers to have a mandate and obligation for realizing social and political norms clashes with traditional understandings of researchers as detached, objective observers. Inspired by deliberative democratic norms and the tradition of action research, some deliberative scholars employ participatory methods that bring participants as active agents into the research process. Rather than being sources of knowledge to be extracted, participants co-create knowledge on an equal footing with academic researchers ( Bergold and Thomas 2012 ; Bussu et al. 2020 ). In doing so, they contribute to the process of democratizing knowledge production, as noted earlier.

We have divided the thirty-one methods included in this book into these four approaches of researching deliberation. Table 1.2 provides an overview of these approaches and the associated methods.

Navigating this Book

The methods presented in the book are explained directly by those who are using them in their theoretical and/or empirical research on deliberative democracy in a variety of settings, contexts, and countries. Each chapter presents one method, elaborates on its application in deliberative democracy, and offers illustrative examples showing how the method is used, or can be used, in practice. The chapters discuss the strengths of each method as well as its limitations. This kind of critical reflection comports with the deliberative values we embrace in the book, and it is crucial for the continuation of methodological development in the field.

Part I: Theorizing Deliberation

The chapters in Part I focus on theoretical investigations in the field. They emphasize different pathways to constructing theories of deliberative democracy and present theorizing as an important methodological skillset one can learn. Promoting an open and broad discussion on how to conduct theoretical research is essential for the development of the field and its agendas.

Chapter 2 elaborates on different Methods of Theorizing in deliberative democracy research. Simone Chambers argues that while empirical social sciences have a relatively well-defined set of methods, tools, and approaches to work with when designing and undertaking research, political theorists have no clear toolbox to draw on. She introduces a typology of five types of normative theory: ideal theory, critical reflective theory, constructive reflective theory, critical applied theory, and constructive applied theory, and then demonstrates how each is developed and utilized within the deliberative democracy tradition.

Chapter 3 argues that Formal Models are essential to promote conceptual clarity, which is necessary for empirical research. James Johnson argues that models should not be employed exclusively in ‘positive’ research. He notes the need to overcome a misguided dichotomy between positive and normative research, which artificially disentangles facts and values. Models are tools for the interpretation of reality and also lie at the heart of theoretical investigations. He illustrates the implications of theoretical modelling in the context of empirical research by focusing on the concept of ‘agreement’ used by many deliberative democrats.

Chapter 4 focuses on the Grounded Normative Theory (GNT) approach in deliberative democracy. Genevieve Fuji Johnson outlines the basic contours of GNT as a broad field and presents its solidaristic expression as a mode of inquiry that is capable of fostering justice and of expressing solidarity with oppressed groups. GNT blends empirical study with normative theorizing recursively, inclusively, accountably, and solidaristically. Johnson challenges deliberative democrats to develop their ‘critical muscles’ and to ensure that deliberative democracy remains relevant to addressing pressing political issues, including racialized injustice and oppression.

Chapter 5 discusses Democratic Theorizing as a participatory approach to developing democratic theory. Hans Asenbaum develops this approach by drawing on deliberative values of inclusion, diversity, listening, and transparency. In contrast to established approaches to theorizing democracy, it includes human and nonhuman research participants in the theorizing process. Bringing together insights from grounded theory, participatory research, and assemblage theory, democratic theorizing enhances the formative agency of those outside academia. Drawing on a democratic theorizing project with the Black Lives Matter movement, the chapter provides a step-by-step guide to take the reader through the different phases a theorizing project might take.

Part II: Measuring Deliberation

Chapters in Part II present different ways of measuring the quality of deliberation in diverse settings, ranging from parliamentary debates to online discussion forums. Some chapters show how researchers can use the established social science methods, such as surveys, field experiments, or social network analysis, to examine deliberative processes at different levels of political interaction. Other chapters present new methods, which are developed particularly for examining deliberative practices. These include the Discursive Quality Index, the Deliberative Reason Index, and the Listening Quality Index.

Chapter 6 turns to the Discourse Quality Index (DQI) and provides guidance for those interested in adopting it in deliberative democracy research. André Bächtiger, Marlène Gerber, and Eléonore Fournier-Tombs survey the development of this method from its original to its expanded versions, including external and perception-based measurements. The authors also respond to some of the common criticisms of the DQI and reflect on novel developments in the automated measurement of deliberative quality.

Chapter 7 presents the Deliberative Reason Index , designed to assess how individuals reason together in a deliberative process. Simon Niemeyer and Francesco Veri introduce this method to capture the extent that a group coheres towards a shared understanding of the issue and its relevant dimensions. This index maps the intersubjective consistency between actors to understand when and how deliberation improves reasoning. The chapter elaborates on the theoretical underpinning of the approach and the methods used to collect and analyse the results.

Chapter 8 introduces the Listening Quality Index (LQI), an instrument that shifts the attention from speaking to listening in small-scale communicative interactions. Mary F. Scudder offers a critical review of the existing ways to measure listening in deliberation and highlights some of their limitations. She argues that some of these efforts go too far and equate listening with its ‘outcomes’, while others do not go far enough and conflate listening simply with ‘the opportunity to hear’. A less common approach to listening is to look for effects of listening on the ‘speaker’ instead of on the ‘listener’. The LQI incorporates speaker satisfaction into a measure of listening and offers a lexical scale to measure the quality of listening in deliberative processes. The chapter outlines the type of data required for analysis, and how researchers can generate this data during and after the deliberative encounter.

Chapter 9 presents the Macro-level Assessment of Deliberative Quality. Dannica Fleuß outlines a strategy for upscaling the measurement of deliberation to the nation-state level by combining elements from two strands of research: the methodological standards of democracy measurements and the conceptual groundwork of systemic approaches to deliberation. Based on a review of previous measurement approaches, the chapter provides practical advice for the conceptualization, operationalization, and aggregation of procedures that allow valid measurement of nation-states’ deliberativeness. By drawing on this method, researchers can compare the deliberativeness of different democracies and identify the type of institutional reforms required to facilitate and promote deliberative democracy at the national level.

Chapter 10 presents the Online Deliberative Matrix (ODM) as a method of measuring the quality of online deliberation. The method, introduced by Raphaël Kies, facilitates the assessment of political debates online through a matrix that measures three sets of criteria: the presence of deliberation, the deliberative attitudes of participants, and the outcome of the deliberative process. The ODM can be applied to assess the deliberative quality of public debates taking place in the digital public sphere, including online forums designed for deliberation and common social media or news websites. The chapter also reflects on the utility of this method in light of the systemic turn in deliberative democracy and offers a critical review of attempts to scale up the analysis through automated assessment of online deliberation.

Chapter 11 introduces Experimental Methods , detailing the kinds of experiments currently used in deliberative democracy research, including face-to-face, online, laboratory, and field experiments. Kimmo Grönlund and Kaisa Herne elaborate on how they use experimental methods to examine and detect causal relationships in deliberative mini-publics, such as citizens’ assemblies, citizens’ juries, and deliberative polls. The chapter also provides insight into an experiment on enclave deliberation and group polarization in deliberative processes. The authors reflect on the future of experimentation on deliberation and discuss the kinds of methodological innovations needed to advance the empirical research in the field.

Chapter 12 focuses on Deliberative Field Experiments as a method for conducting experiments in real politics. Jon Kingzette and Michael Neblo define field experiments as systematic attempts to understand the causal dynamics of deliberation by manipulating features of the system: in naturalistic settings (rather than via surveys or in labs); on real political issues (rather than hypothetical scenarios); and by engaging a broad cross-section of people in a specific political jurisdiction potentially affected by pending political actions. The chapter outlines the process of deliberative field experiments and illustrates how they can be used to analyse deliberative events, such as the online town halls that Neblo and his colleagues have been organizing with the members of Congress in the US.

Chapter 13 presents Scenario Experiments . Hannah Werner and Lala Muradova explain how they use this method to understand the impacts of deliberation on public opinion formation, democratic legitimacy, and political behaviour. They argue that scenario experiments are most useful when studying the micro mechanisms of internal deliberation and the macro effects of deliberative events on the wider public. They show the application of this method in practice by providing examples from several recent research studies that use scenario experiments to analyze deliberation. The chapter also discusses how the methodological innovations in experimental social science research can improve research on deliberation.

Chapter 14 discuses the many uses of Survey Methods in studying deliberation. John Gastil begins with a typology of survey methods to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of mail, phone, Internet, cross-sectional, and longitudinal surveys. The chapter then offers examples from the use of surveys of participants in singular events, such as Deliberative Polls, the Irish Constitutional Convention, and the Australian Citizens’ Parliament, surveys of participants in laboratory experiments, and surveys of larger populations—often linked with deliberative events, such as the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly or the Oregon Citizens’ Initiative Review. The chapter concludes by highlighting the ongoing problems in survey methods and reflects on the type of survey methods needed to span different levels of analysis to inform systemic theories of deliberation.

Chapter 15 focuses on Social Network Analysis (SNA), exploring its potential for the study of deliberative processes and, particularly, deliberative systems. Eduardo Silva, Antônio Ribeiro, and Silvio Higgins show how SNA can be employed to explain if and how components of a system relate to each other, as well as different pathologies that may hinder the flow of ideas and proposals from one site to another. The chapter presents different examples illustrating the practical application of SNA in deliberative democracy research and introduces the key metrics used by these investigations.

Chapter 16 explores the use of Big Data Analysis in deliberative scholarship. Delving into this innovative methodological trend, Núria Franco-Guillén, Sebastian De Laile, and John Parkinson define big data and set out methodological decisions necessary in big data analysis. The chapter emphasizes the change in scope represented by the approach, which allows the analysis of massive volumes of data. The authors illustrate the merits and limits of big data analysis in deliberative democracy research by focusing on two case studies: the Scottish independence referendum campaign of 2012–2014, and the Australian campaign to recognize First Nations in its constitution.

Chapter 17 elaborates on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and shows how this method can be used for comparing different instances of deliberative processes. Matt Ryan explains how QCA combines the generalizability of quantitative research with the deep understanding of interpretive research. Through qualitative investigation of a small to medium number of cases, it identifies patterns that allow for valid conclusions. In deliberative democracy research, QCA is particularly useful for comparing a number of cases and understanding the conditions for good and bad deliberation. The chapter provides step-by-step guidance to undertaking QCA and demonstrates how lessons from QCA can be employed to design more successful deliberative forums in the future.

Part III: Exploring Deliberation

Chapters in Part III of the volume focus on the methods that are used to explore deliberation in structured forums and the public sphere. As readers will notice, some methods use similar data-gathering techniques but diverge in terms of the type of data they gather and analyse. For example, methods, such as the Talk-based Analysis or Narrative Analysis focus on the analysis of talk and text, while others, such as Dramaturgical Analysis and Frame Analysis enable researchers to also take into account non-verbal forms of expression and performances. This part also includes examples of methods that sit at the intersection of quantitative and qualitative modes of analysis, such as Q methodology or Mixed Methods.

Chapter 18 discusses the use of Ethnography in the study of deliberative democracy. Nicole Curato and Nicole Doerr outline two purposes of ethnography—to describe and to critique the lived experience of deliberative practice. The chapter presents a variety of empirical cases covering ten years of ethnographic work. In doing so, the chapter invites reflection on the positionality of the observer in culturally complex and multilingual deliberation. It also makes a case for conducting ethnography in non-ideal settings marked by inequality, to sharpen our understanding of deliberative theory in relation to fields of visual and cultural sociology, performance, and affect studies.

Chapter 19 introduces Rhetorical Criticism as a method that enables a close textual analysis of deliberative discourse. Influenced by poststructuralism, critical theory, and feminist theory, rhetorical criticism stresses how discourse constructs reality and how various material and symbolic contexts shape communicative practices. Drawing on examples from recent scholarship, John Rountree outlines how rhetorical criticism can be undertaken. The chapter addresses the key research questions this method can help respond to, its units of analysis, its approach to building a dataset, and its method for translating textual evidence into interpretive arguments.

Chapter 20 explores Process Tracing as a method for structuring qualitative, explanatory case-study analysis of deliberative processes. Jonathan Pickering outlines process tracing as a method to identify causal mechanisms that connect the causes of events or phenomena to their outcomes, drawing evidence from a wide array of sources associated with a single case or a small number of cases. Many empirical studies in political science have employed process tracing in a loose manner, and only more recently have political scientists made a concerted effort to develop a more systematic approach. This chapter shows how deliberative democracy scholars can employ process tracing to assess deliberation within and beyond mini-publics, highlighting areas for future research.

Chapter 21 presents Q Methodology , which is used for comprehending subjective viewpoints or discourses, involving both quantitative and qualitative elements. Lucy Parry shows how Q methodology is used to identify the balance of discourses in various sites witihin the broader deliberaitve system. This is illustrated in a detailed guide drawing on a Q methodology study on the representation of animals in the foxhunting discourse in the United Kingdom.

Chapter 22 introduces Dramaturgical Analysis as a way of analysing the performative aspects of public deliberation. Selen Ercan and Carolyn Hendriks outline the key dimensions of dramaturgical analysis, such as scripting, setting, staging and performance. The chapter shows how these dimensions can be used to analyse the communicative interactions in various settings, ranging from structured forums to the broader public sphere. Dramaturgical analysis directs the researcher’s attention to often-overlooked or taken-for-granted aspects of public deliberation, such as the performative styles and body language of the actors involved in deliberation, where they stand, how they enact and stage their arguments, what symbols and artefacts they use to reinforce their viewpoints, and how they reach out and persuade diverse audiences. Drawing on dramaturgical analysis, researchers can study verbal and non-verbal interactions taking place in deliberative practices.

Chapter 23 explains how Narrative Analysis can be used in deliberative democracy research. John Boswell argues that while narrative analysis has much to offer scholars of deliberation, the growing interest in and adoption of this approach in social science research presents some complexities and confusions. The chapter clarifies a version of narrative analysis considered as particularly suitable for studying deliberative practice (grounded in the traditions of interpretive policy analysis) and offers examples of how this analysis can be undertaken.

Chapter 24 introduces Frame Analysis as a method for studying deliberative democracy generally, and deliberative systems in particular. Ricardo Mendonça and Paula Simões argue that the method’s focus on the contextual dimension of meaning-making processes offers a path for the investigation of discursive clashes across time and space. The chapter raises the question of how frames produce particular perceptions of reality and how deliberative democracy draws attention to who has the power to produce such frames. The chapter distinguishes between three traditions of frame analysis and illustrates what frame analysis can contribute to the study of deliberative democracy through a variety of examples.

Chapter 25 describes Talk-based Analysis , which can be used for analysing speech, discourse, and rhetoric delivered in deliberative spaces. As Paromita Sanyal explains, this method provides a tool for the qualitative analysis of who says what and how, employing a semiotic approach that links speech and performance. The talk-based method is useful for examining the influence of social stratification and inequalities on public deliberations. Sanyal shows how she used this method in state-citizen discussions in constitutionally mandated village assemblies, gram sabha , in India. The analysis draws attention to how citizens talk to the state, as they voice demands or requests for public goods and personal benefits, complain about government negligence, and protest corruption and government inefficiencies.

Chapter 26 explores Media Analysis to study deliberative democracy. Rousiley Maia and Tariq Choucair argue that the systemic turn in deliberative theory has invited a reconceptualization of argumentative exchange across different contexts and spaces. A systemic approach cannot afford to ignore interfaces between deliberation in institutional forums and more mundane discussions, and, consequentially, the neighbouring field of mass media and digital communication. This chapter offers a way of employing content analysis for researching mass media material and diversified online platforms. It presents different ways of using content analysis and blending it with other techniques to study deliberation at micro, macro and sytem levels.

Chapter 27 outlines the use of Mixed Methods to analyse deliberative processes and argues that mixed methods are well-suited to grappling with deliberation’s complexity. Oliver Escobar reviews methodological foundations and outlines questions and puzzles where mixed methods can contribute to deliberative scholarship. The chapter also covers research design, data generation, analysis, and quality standards, while offering examples and concluding with a call to strengthen the mixed methods community of practice within the field of deliberative democracy.

Chapter 28 highlights the importance of Case Study Research for the study of deliberative democracy. Stephen Elstub and Gianfranco Pomatto provide guidance on how to select cases and collect and analyse data in the field of deliberative democracy. In comparison with other methods, case studies have the advantage of delving into an individual case with the help of various methods and thus exploring it in depth. While it might be expected that case studies are particularly apt for exploring deliberative forums, the chapter shows how such explorations can teach us important lessons about how deliberation can be scaled up in deliberative systems.

Part IV: Enacting Deliberation

Finally, the fourth part focuses on the methods that bring deliberation to action through research. The methods draw on deliberative ideals for producing both knowledge and action. One of these methods, Deliberative Policy Analysis, for example, seeks to bring together a range of actors including citizens, politicians, and experts for formulating and implementing democratically legitimate policies. When researchers enact deliberation as part of their research or analysis, they work alongside participants and seek to improve deliberation in practice. The chapters included in this part of the book show how this may happen in both structured forums and the wider public sphere. They also reflect on some of the limitations and challenges of enacting deliberation in the context of a research process.

Chapter 29 outlines Deliberative Policy Analysis (DPA) as an effective alternative approach to mainstream technocratic policy analysis. Hendrik Wagenaar presents two distinguishing characteristics of DPA: its focus on inclusive deliberation as a strategy of policy inquiry, and its orientation towards practice. While DPA accommodates a range of interpretive methods, this chapter focuses on the relatively neglected analysis of practice. The analysis of practice requires a combination of sufficiently close-up ethnographic observation to allow the researcher to capture the deliberative practices, and an inductive theoretical rendition of these observations. The chapter shows how DPA can help to reveal the mundane practices, the hidden configurations of the process of policy formulation and implementation.

Chapter 30 makes a case for using Action Research in the study of public deliberation. Kiran Cunningham and Lilian Muyomba-Tamale draw our attention to some of the key principles that action research shares with deliberative democracy. These entail inclusion, equity, and the goal of collective knowledge production. Action research, with its roots in feminist studies and critical theory, not only helps to investigate the processes and impacts of deliberation, but also offers a method of enacting deliberation. Drawing on the example of Civic Engagement Action Plans (CEAPs) in Uganda, the authors show how deliberation and action research can go hand in hand and enable the inclusion of citizens and civil society actors into governmental decision-making processes.

Chapter 31 introduces Community of Inquiry (CoI) as a group interview method. Kei Nishiyama elaborates on the philosophical roots of the CoI, which was originally pioneered by pragmatist philosophers, such as John Dewey, as a group dialogue for reflective knowledge-construction. As a research method, CoI enacts deliberative ideals in practice in two important ways. First, it encourages reflection and reason-giving in the context of the interview process. Second, it emphasizes collaborative questioning and active listening, which help to minimize the power imbalances between an interviewer and interviewees and between interviewees. Nishiyama shows how he uses CoI in conducting group interviews with children.

Chapter 32 presents an innovative method, namely The Deliberative Camp , to generate knowledge about social movements interactions, while also promoting such interactions in practice. Donatella della Porta and Andrea Felicetti elaborate on how researchers can co-organize Deliberative Camps along with activists, and how these camps can be used to shed light on dynamic practices performed by social movements and nurture their critical reflection about these practices. As a method of inquiry, the Deliberative Camp formalizes deliberations occurring within and between social movements and provides a powerful tool to deepen the comprehension of the relationships between social movements and deliberative democracy. The chapter discusses the main ideas behind this method, presents the key steps required for its implementation, and outlines its potential contribution as well as limitations for research on social movements and deliberative democracy.

Finally, in Chapter 33 , Jane Mansbridge provides concluding remarks on contemporary research in deliberative democracy. In this chapter, which is entited Mutual Need , she argues that the field requires and benefits from a close relationship between theory, practice, and empirical analysis. In her view, this is essential for the production of normatively legitimate decisions in a complex world. Mansbridge concludes the book with a note of hope on human ingenuity and the capacity to strengthen democracy in the face of the grave problems confronting our societies today.

We hope that this book captures the diversity of available methods, and we look forward to learning about other methods that we failed to include in this collection. Our aim in publishing this volume open access is to ‘practice what we preach’. We want anyone wishing to learn about or take part in methodological debates in deliberative democracy to be able to do so without any prohibitions to access to information. We hope that readers find our book both useful and empowering. Rather than a canonical volume that closes a debate, we see this book as the start of a conversation that will increase the diversity and sophistication of empirical and theoretical engagements in future deliberative democracy research.

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The Future of Democracy

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What ails American democracy, and what to do about it

Harvard Kennedy School scholars examine threats and responses.

Harvard Kennedy School faculty share insights into the evident fragility of American democratic norms and institutions following the attack on the United States Capitol by followers of President Trump. These essays examine the nature and scale of the threat and weigh potential avenues for protecting and nurturing democracy. They were written before the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Trump on Wednesday for the second time.

• Nicholas Burns
• Cornell William Brooks
• Joan Donovan
• Thomas Patterson
• Tarek Masoud
• Archon Fung
• Pippa Norris

Allies fret and foes gloat at the homegrown threats to American democracy

Nicholas Burns, Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations

Fragility, white nationalism, and redemptive healing

The second thing that I think is incredibly important is this notion that white nationalism is a threat to the black and brown ‘they’, as opposed to an existential threat to the multi-racial multi-ethnic ‘we the people.’ It's clear here that what happened last week is a threat to democracy itself. Not they, not them, but us.

Last point here that I'm still processing as a human being, not as a member of the Kennedy school faculty, but as a human being, as a moral being, is this notion that healing can be harmful or that healing can be redemptive. In other words, this impatient call for the country to heal, to come together, to paper over the differences, to paper over the divisions, to paper over the violence that we were subject to both morally and physically, is offensive. And this is in fact a common response to this challenge. 

[But] healing can be redemptive, which is to say that we can patiently process as we're doing today what we've come through, the ways in which our sensibilities have been violated; the degree to which many of us feel physically vulnerable. For those of us on this call who have been subject to death threats, who have been subject to racist thoughts and hate, this was a moment of vulnerability.

(Excerpt from Kennedy School community online discussion ) 

Cornell William Brooks, Hauser Professor of the Practice of Nonprofit Organizations; Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice

Curbing the deadly damage caused by misinformation

Joan Donovan, adjunct lecturer in public policy, research director, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy 

The GOP’s record of undermining democracy predates Trump election claims

When it became clear that mail-in balloting might benefit Biden and other Democratic candidates, Republicans claimed without a shred of evidence that it was riddled with fraud and then obstructed it. Texas’s Republican governor limited each of the state’s counties to a single drop-off location, seeking to suppress the vote in heavily populated Democratic counties. Montana and North Carolina were among the Republican states that sought to limit mail-in voting . The Trump administration cut Postal Service funding in hope that mail-in ballots would arrive too late to be counted. 

The list of Republican shenanigans is lengthy. There was no constitutional barrier to prevent Wisconsin’s outgoing Republican governor Scott Walker, in consort with the state’s Republican-controlled legislature, to strip the governor’s office of power before the incoming Democratic governor could take office in 2019. But it violated the longstanding norm of American politics that the outgoing party accept the transfer of power that comes with losing an election . North Carolina’s Republicans pulled the same stunt when the state’s voters elected a Democratic governor in 2016. 

The 1965 Voting Rights Act was designed to end the voter suppression that had long darkened America’s elections. It worked until Republicans began devising schemes to keep minorities from voting. In the early 2000s, they enacted laws requiring residents to have a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, in order to register to vote. Minority group members, young adults, and people of low income—all of whom tend to vote Democratic—are less likely than white Americans as a whole to have a passport or driver’s license.

Nearly thirty states have since enacted voter ID laws and all but one did so when controlled by Republican lawmakers who claimed without evidence that the requirement is needed to prevent voter fraud. The true purpose is unmistakable. As a longtime Republican political consultant said: “Of course it’s political. Why else would you do it?” Republican lawmakers in Florida and Pennsylvania slipped up and publicly said that the aim was to suppress the Democratic vote.

Perhaps the mob that ransacked the Capital last week will lead the GOP to change colors. It will, of course, force the GOP to distance itself from Donald Trump. But don’t expect more. Republicans oppose strengthening the Voting Rights Act and have signaled their intention to limit mail-in voting . And, if their recent past is a guide, they won’t stop there.

Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government & the Press and author of Is the Republican Party Destroying Itself?

Did the Capitol Hill riots demonstrate US democracy’s weakness or its strength?

Tarek Masoud, Professor of Public Policy and Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman Professor of International Relations

How can we build a democracy that we all believe in?

Though this idea of putting citizens in charge of democracy would be new to the United States, the experience of Citizen Assemblies from countries such Canada, Ireland, and Iceland shows that they can generate very sensible recommendations that many other citizens like and accept as legitimate. Most of our political leaders will reject the idea that citizens should have a powerful role in improving our democracy, not least because they won their positions according to the current rules of democracy. But if the Stop the Steal riots last week mobilize us to be more ambitious and innovative about our republic, to be curiously searching for better ways from all around the world rather than congratulating ourselves about our exceptional system of government, we can build together a democracy that we all believe in.

(Excerpt from a longer essay )

Archon Fung, Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government

The roots of democratic backsliding go beyond Trump 

But the rot goes deeper than one man. In the last eight elections, from 1992 to 2020, the Republican Party won a majority of the popular vote only once (in 2004), and as its national electoral prospects declined, it has drifted further toward illiberalism. Two recent independent cross-national studies, by the V-Party project and the Global Party Survey , show just how extreme the GOP has become in its position toward the principles of liberal democracy, where it is now estimated to be closer to authoritarian populist parties such as Spain’s Vox, the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom, and the Alterative for Germany than it is to mainstream conservative, Christian Democratic, and center-right parties. By contrast, the studies found that the Democratic Party’s position is similar to that of many moderate parties within the mainstream center-left. 

Finally, the problem also lies in the Republican base. The foundations of American civic culture—attitudes of trust in government, confidence in the political system, and support for democracy—have weakened over the decades. The World Values Survey asks whether people approve of various types of political systems, and in 1995, 25 percent of Americans said it was a good idea to have “a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections.” That already alarming share rose steadily, and by 2017, 38 percent of Americans embraced this belief. Trump was thus throwing a lit match into a puddle of gasoline when he chose to claim that Biden had stolen the election.

(Excerpt from commentary in Foreign Affairs, “It Happened in America”)

Pippa Norris, the Paul F. McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics

Header image: Police clear the U.S. Capitol Building with tear gas as supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather outside, in Washington, U.S. January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

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212 Democracy Essay Topics & Research Questions about Democracy

Looking for interesting democracy titles for your assignments? Look no further! We present to you our excellent list of research questions about democracy, topics for presentation, and essay titles. They will surely inspire a great paper!

🏆 Best Democracy Titles for Essays

✍️ democracy essay topics for college, 👍 good democracy research topics & essay examples, 🎓 most interesting democracy topics for presentation, 📌 easy democracy essay topics, 💡 simple democracy essay ideas, ❓ research questions about democracy.

• Direct Democracy from Rousseau’s Perspective
• Democracy in Nigeria: Democratic Structure, Executive-Legislative Structure, and Electoral System
• Majoritarian and Consensus Models of Democracy
• Biotech, Corporate Power, and Democracy: Oryx and Crake
• The Influence of Social Media on Democracy
• “Democracy and Its Critics” by Robert Dahl
• Ancient Civilizations: Athenian Democracy vs Australian Democracy
• Democracy: Advantages and Disadvantages Democracy has developed in a setting where people feel oppressed and generally being dictated upon or were unfair.
• Democracy in The Lottery by Jackson Politics is an essential part of nowadays life. Politics are obligations of a state in regard to society and personality.
• Globalization and Democratization Relationship This paper explores the existing relationship between democracy and globalization. It focuses on democratization, globalization and their imperativeness.
• Rights & Duties and Basis of Democracy The government protects unalienable human rights such as freedom of expression and equality before the law. In turn, citizens fulfill their responsibilities such as paying taxes.
• Democracy: Strengths and Weaknesses According to Thucydides and Plato The ancient Greek civilization handed the world a model of democracy that has been borrowed by many democratic societies globally up to the modern times.
• Democracy in the United States This paper will discuss democracy in the United States. It will determine how the United States exercises democracy and how it violates justice.
• Astra Taylor’s “What Is Democracy?” Documentary Review Astra Taylor’s Documentary, What is Democracy? takes an in-depth look at the concept of democracy and its history, from its ancient Greek roots.
• How Democratic Is the American Constitution? This essay paper discuss deeply the American constitution, how democratic and anti-democratic it has been, and how it should be improved to be more democratic.
• How Lebanon Is Developing a Democracy Lebanon has quite a history of fighting for democratic values. The civil war that took place in 1975 and lasted for 15 years left a huge mark on citizens’ economic well-being.
• Australia’s Liberal Democratic System This paper studies how Australia’s Liberal Democratic system that is a keystone of social policy in the country, enhances and or limits the well-being of its citizens.
• “How Democratic Is the American Constitution?” by Robert A. Dahl The book How Democratic is the American Constitution? by Robert A. Dahl is a provocative examination of the American constitution.
• Is Russia a Democracy? The essay states that Russian democracy is not a true democracy but an emerging democracy where people as yet have limited freedom and rights.
• Athenian Democracy: A History of Rise and Fall The 5th-4th centuries BC were a period of the flourishing of polises. There were some outstanding statesman who contributed to the democratization.
• Democratic Leadership Style and Responsibilities Democratic leadership style, which is also known as a participative style, is a leadership style that strives to involve employees in organizational management and decision making.
• French Revolution as a Turning Point to Democracy The French Revolution is usually credited with overturning the monarchy characterized by royal absolutism and enforcing the Republic instead.
• Capitalism and Democracy: The Problem of Coexistence The paper examines whether the coexistence of capitalism and democracy provides mutual benefits or enforces detremial mechanisms that strain the relationship between these forces.
• Federalism, Consociational Democracy, Government Though federalism and consociational democracy overlap in many aspects, some distinctive features that divide them into two distinct terms.
• Republican and Democratic Parties Comparison This paper compares and contrasts the Republican and Democratic parties, and discusses the benefits and drawbacks of the two-party system.
• Digital Communication Systems and Its Impact on Democracy The contribution, which new media can make in the development of democracy, depends on the efforts of government and media groups to the large extent.
• The Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation The Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe book by Linz and Stepan explore the issue of democratic transitions.
• Democratic Leadership and Management Style The paper analyzes democratic leadership as the management style adopted by the author’s group, and approach to management indicated by the management style questionnaire.
• Democratic Political System Analysis The paper addresses the topic of democratic and authoritarian political systems, and answers the question: does a democratic system guarantee people’s will?
• Impacts of the Democratization of Making Maps Democratization of Maps began in the late 1970s, although some geographers opposed the idea of democratization of maps with a view that it would lead to the demise of cartography.
• Democracy: Principles and Critiques Having stemmed from the democratic principles, the ideas of diversity call for the promotion of tolerance and mutual respect.
• Creating an Ideal State with Democratic Government The ideal country will accept the model of constitutional democracy because the constitution will play a significant role in stabilization and help overcome the political crisis.
• Representative Democracy and Its Crisis Cases of crises associated with representative democracy include dictatorship, oligarchy, officials pursuing their own ambitions, and bribing of representatives.
• Cultural Democracy and Internet Imperialism The source helps draw a connection between the conscious domination of cultural niches and its impact on global biases within media.
• Foreign Direct Investments in Democratic Republic of Congo For a long time, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been considered a country unattractive for Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).
• Media and Democracy in “By the People: Debating American Government 5e” “By the People: Debating American Government” is an introduction to the American government, and the 9th chapter focuses on media and democracy in the US.
• Concepts of Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism, Democracy Both authoritarian and totalitarian regimes are derived from an autocratic ideology, the doctrine that the government is resided in the hands of one individual or a group.
• Leo Strauss and Friedrich Hayek on Democracy The analysis of the two philosophers, Leo Strauss and Friedrich August von Hayek and their beliefs and views on democracy has a common theme, which is described in the article.
• Gender Inequality in Democratic Welfare States This paper is claimed to evaluate the strategies of Liberal and Social Democratic political forces aimed at the alleviation of gender inequalities.
• Special Interest Groups as a Threat to Democracy Special interest groups are smaller communities within larger ones that promote specific interests attributed to their members.
• The Concept of Democracy in Political Theory This paper includes a critical review of interdisciplinary research on the origins of democracy, its economic impact, and the concept of rights.
• Representative Democracy Crisis: Causes and Responses Representative democracy is believed to be an elementary principal. But the current representation system crisis in Europe augments from the oligarchy form of democracy.
• Industrial Revolution, Democracy and Equality The impact of the industrial revolution on society should not be understated. It transformed mostly agrarian economies into those oriented towards goods and services.
• Plato’s “Republic” – What Is Democracy? An idealized version of a parliamentary government is the redefinition of democracy. Plato failed to see the possibility of transforming ordinary people into intelligent members of the electorate.
• American Democracy: The Formation of the United States The formation of the United States is linked to the replacement of the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution.
• Divergence Between Republicans and Democrats Throughout history, a whole established platform of divergence between Republicans and Democrats has narrowed.
• Republicans vs. Democrats on Separation of Church and State Most Republicans have a rather negative attitude towards separating it from the state. While many Democrats believe that faith should not interfere with any political processes.
• The East German Democratic Republic: Problems and Challenges The East German Democratic Republic had major issues, including its political practices, which contributed to the country’s collapse rather than triumph.
• Problems of Democratic Consolidation in Developing Countries The paper argues developing countries pursuing economic and political heights should strive to consolidate democratic forces.
• Social Entrepreneurship and Democracy The article explores the integral role of social entrepreneurship in democratic societies, particularly in pre-democratic or emerging democracy contexts.
• Slavery and Democracy in the United States On the road to progress and enlightenment, virtually all races have resorted to such a terrible form of social development as slavery.
• Democrats and Republicans in the US Politics Democrats tend to be institutionalized mainly as the party of the economic elites. At the same time, Republicans represent working-class Americans.
• Negative Impact of Modern Democracy on Political Process In recent years, there has been a lot of work by economists looking for factors that could explain the bias and inconsistency of the political process.
• Negative Impact of Modern Democracy in the US The main cause of social imbalances in the United States is value conflict. This is a “seismic shift” in cultural stereotypes under the influence of new social phenomena.
• American Democrats’ Pro-Abortion Beliefs The US political system consists of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans. The chosen news article elaborates more on the Federal Abortion ban from these two perspectives.
• Citizen Participation in a Representative Democracy Society’s quality of life is determined not only by the government’s influence but also by citizens’ interest in applying efforts to promote their well-being.
• Jacksonian Democracy: Who Benefitted? The Jacksonian democracy enhanced the freedom and equality of citizens in the United States, giving people more power and representation in social visions.
• Challenges to American Democracy Principles The surveillance of U.S. citizens by intelligence agencies is a fundamental departure from the principles of freedom and a serious blow to liberal principles.
• The US Democracy Promotion in the Middle East This essay informs about the reasons for promoting democratic values by the US in the Middle East, which intends to establish a close relationship between the countries.
• Japanese Political Power and Liberal Democratic Party Although there are many studies that dwell on the case of LDP and its success, the popularity and national devotion to the party remain rather vague.
• Globalization and Democratic Peace Theory In the context of globalization, it is necessary to consider the theory of democratic peace, which recognizes democracy as the best form of government for society.
• Utilitarianism Theory Applied to Western Democracy According to the theory of utilitarianism, there are ethical norms that must be followed. As a result, they overlook the other virtues that favor the few.
• Populism as Integral Part of Democracy Populism cannot be perceived as a grotesque distortion of representative democracy’s objectives and practices since populism’s aim is to serve the interests of the masses.
• All In: The Fight for Democracy Documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy is the 2020 documentary film. The film revolves around voter suppression in the United States. The central theme of the film is disenfranchisement.
• Human Democracy and Technology Development The article explores the impact of technology on human rights and the human policies initiated to govern human rights and freedom in the digital era.
• Corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo While world economies are affected by a range of problems, some have remained entrenched in countries, impending national and regional growth.
• Democracy in America: Unperfect, But Still Prevails The article looks at the views of French historian Alexis de Tocqueville on democracy and its potential dangers.
• Expansion of Democracy in the United States before 1877 This paper discusses the rapid expansion of democracy for Americans before 1877 and explaines how government measures helped former slaves become citizens of the country.
• Democracy in Iran & Culture and Politics Although, to some observers, democracy may seem as the undoubtedly superior form of government, it is not universally present in the world.
• Democracy in the United States of America The paper states that democracy is a key factor in shaping the collective identity of US citizens as one nation rather than separate states.
• Republic and Democracy in the United States The original Constitution guarantees every American state the Republican form of government, which protects the established U.S. system from the tyranny of the majority.
• Poland: Democratic Nation vs. Communist Country Differences between people living in a democratic nation and a communist country are apparent by looking at Poland before and after communism.
• The Shays’ Rebellion: Democratic Movement The Shays’ Rebellion was the culmination of the democratic movement in the United States in the 18th century’s last quarter.
• The Democrats Attempt to Incorporate Immigration Issue in the Economic Bill Notably, the most recent development on immigration is that the Democrats presented a bill in an attempt to include immigrants who have not been accounted for in their economic bill.
• The Crisis of Democracy of the 1930s The Soviet Union played a key role during Hitler’s despotic reign in Germany. Notably, the union was at war with itself, which added to the possible aggression anticipated from Germany.
• Economic, Democracy, and the Distribution of Capital Ownership The article gives an overview of how capital ownership generally integrates with economic growth and democratic stability. It uses different economic theories.
• Will the New Communications Technologies Bring a New “Age of Democracy”? Communication technologies are an integral part of the realities of the modern age, where every aspect of human existence is directly impacted by digital forces.
• Economic Power of 2019 Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Movement In June 2019, there were protests in Hong Kong caused by the China government’s new plans to allow criminals’ extradition to Mainland China.
• The Ideology of Political Liberalism and True Democratic Ideal True democracy implies the political courage of individuals that are determined to fight for the ideals of freedom and justice for everyone during crisis times.
• Election in the United States in the Context of Democratic Values Evidently, the United States of America became one of the first nations in the world’s history, which were built upon the principles of democracy.
• Will the New Communication Technologies Bring a New Age of Democracy? The use of information technology will not turn society into a society of direct democracy, and it will remain representative.
• Walt Whitman as a Democratic Symbol Speaking of Whitman’s overall contribution to poetry, it may be safe to say that he was an innovator that would never be afraid of experimenting
• Beliefs of the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans With his followers, Thomas Jefferson strongly viewed the United States as more of a sovereign entity bound with a common interest.
• Bureaucracy in a Democracy Bureaucracy is a considerable part of contemporary democratic society. Most organizations should be regulated by specific services to maintain uniformity because of their complexity.
• Confrontation Between Democrats and Republicans The confrontation between Democrats and Republicans significantly affects America’s domestic and foreign policy.
• Reconciling the Need for a Bureaucracy Versus All These Issues It Presents Against Democracy Although bureaucracy as a phenomenon has gained a rather negative coloring in the everyday use of the word, it is supposed to describe a neutral phenomenon.
• Representing Democracy: Reference to American Constitution Controversies surrounded the 2018 senate election in the state of Florida, which occasioned recounting of the votes cast.
• The Impact of the Locke’s Democratic Theory on the Contemporary Governance Locke’s ideas have influenced the development of the doctrine of the separation of powers, which is used around the world to create a balance of power within governments.
• Prison System for a Democratic Society This report is designed to transform the corrections department to form a system favorable for democracy, seek to address the needs of different groups of offenders.
• The Effects of Hate Crime Law on Democracy The hate crime law effectively protects people from different social groups and their freedom in spite of its potential risk to an individual’s right to express himself.
• Democracy in America: Decision-Making It can be argued that politics in America are not genuinely democratic. The current approaches to decision-making do not account for the opinion of the citizens
• Democracy in the American Government The American political system is regarded to be a representative democracy. The system is democratic due to regular elections and equal opportunities for civic participation.
• The Health of American Democracy In this article, the author assesses the health of American democracy based on the political participation and political knowledge of ordinary Americans.
• Representing a Democracy in Miami, Florida This paper analyzes three members of Congress from Miami, Florida by looking at their demographic profile, support base, policy issues of interest, and ideologies.
• Principles and Literature Materials on Democracy and Governance There are numerous literature publications on democracy and governance whose main objective is to promote democracy and good governance.
• Key Principles and Processes of Democracy and Their Influences on Public Policies Democratic principles are very vital during a public policy formulation, this is because democracy is becoming the most preferred form of government around the world.
• The Concepts of Contemporary Democratic Governance and the Separation of Powers The federalism and the doctrine of the separation of powers are very important in terms of establishing democratic forms of governance.
• Is the USA a Democracy? American Politics Although the United States of America prides itself on being the first democratic country, an opinion that the US is not a democracy has been gaining more traction in recent years.
• The Issues of Democracy in Australia and the USA The democratic governance in both Australia and the USA has similarities and differences, it is also important that technology impacts different policy and governance areas.
• G. Bush and B. Obama: Tools of Democracy, Public Policies, and Practices The use of tools of democracy provide a lot of alternatives through which the government may effectively influence the behavior of individuals for the benefit of the entire public.
• The Clayton County Library System: The Effectiveness of Workplace Democracy Diversity in the workplace helps in promoting democratic principles in several ways, for example, ensuring diversity in the workplace fosters the spirit of participation.
• Differences Between Presidential and Parliamentary Types of Democracy Using the American, British and Indian systems of democracies the essay explains the differences in the election process between the presidential and parliamentary governments.
• Capitalism and Socialism, Democracy This kind of system is illustrated by having recognized equality rights and freedom both in a social setting and political locale.
• The Democrat and the Dictator: Roosevelt’s and Hitler’s Speech The common ground for both Roosevelt and Hitler could be found in the fact that both of the leaders were reproaching the governmental leadership that existed at that time.
• E-Consultation: Enabling Democracy Between Elections Increasing public involvement in political issues is a major issue in democracy. Most countries in the world are democratic.
• Concept of Democracy in the Black Community The issue of sports and racism centers on the communal and biased implication associated with the issue of black athletic supremacy or the overall view of such presumed supremacy.
• “The Transparency of Democracy” Research by Friedman The research “The Transparency of Democracy” by Friedman used the ideas founded in Lefebvre’s invention of space to evaluate the powers involving cultural and spatial formation.
• Social Justice to Maintain Democracy in Australia This essay will look into the impact of social justice concepts in maintaining democracy in Australian society.
• Democracy in America: Effects of Wealth Inequality The purpose of this study is to explore how wealth inequality affects democracy in America and what the perceptions of that influence are.
• How Democracy Was Born? Since ancient times, democracy has been considered a favorable way of ruling which permits freedom and participation in state of affairs by all citizens.
• Ethnic Parties and Democratic Stability in Divided Societies Many professional on divided societies and governmental designing generally declare that serious society divisions create a major predicament for democracy.
• Democracy and de Facto Powers The main objective is to examine the challenges and results in order to make “more changes to become a full-fledged democracy”.
• Ethical Issues of American Democracy The American democracy is experiencing metamorphosis, and on the ethical perspective, some issues are emerging.
• Is the Labour Party Neo-Liberal or Social Democratic? The basis of the party is solely social democratic, and, in spite of the fact that some instances of liberalism could be traced in the principles of the party.
• Parliamentary and Presidential Democracy Discussion At the beginning of the 21st century, parliamentary and presidential democracies are the main forms of power in the world.
• The Effects of Leftist Movement on Democracy in Latin America The paper is about the relationship between the adoption of neo-liberal policies and the social impact of economic development in geographically adjacent Latin American countries.
• Democratic Capitalism and Morality in America The problem of the level of the salary in the modern world remains core in economics in the condition of the free market.
• America Transformed Timelines and Democracy Growth This paper discusses America’s transformed timeline highlighting the changes in political parties and the significant events that marked the growth of democracy.
• Challenges of Democracy Promotion in the United States The challenges of democracy in the United States center on promotion of democracy in all the government systems and departments.
• Is Russia a Real Democracy? Thus, a difficult question of whether there is a democracy in Russia is considered with a negative response in most parameters when comparing with other developed countries.
• “The Role of the United Nations Development Programme in Post-conflict Peace-Building”: Article Analysis Endorsement of democratic values and supporting policies of good governance have become trademark characteristics of the UN in the approaches adopted to deal with issues.
• Republican and Democratic Parties Major Differences Many political ideologies exist in the U.S. ranging from far right-wing conservatism to far-leftist philosophy. Two major parties are Republican and Democratic.
• Democracy in Islamic World The urgent problem of modern society nowadays is the state of democracy in Islamic countries that claims attention of politicians and common people all around the world.
• Democratic Capitalism and Individual Liberty Democratic capitalism is the economic and political system based on individuals’ potentials in an environment of cooperation and trust.
• The Feasibility of Transforming Iraq into a Democratic Nation The essay explains the dynamics of ethnic composition of Iraq and how the cultural characteristics of Mideast societies make it difficult for them to adopt Western concepts.
• Liberal Democracy and the Problem of Political Organization Liberal democracy cannot be the final solution to the political organization as it is limited by the Constitution and strict laws and regulations within the state.
• Leadership and Democratic Action: Leadership Ability Analysis Analysis of the leadership style of leaders: Martin Luther King, Wayne Gretzky, Nelson Mandela, Adolf Hitler, Margaret Thatcher, and the consequences of their approach to leadership.
• How Far Did General Chun Doo Hwan Prevent a Democratic Development in South Korea During the Late 1980s to Early 1990s? The paper examines the lengths to which the general went to ensure that his military rule continued and also examines how he subverted the democratic process.
• Dominican Republic Developing a Democracy The author presents the facts from the history of the Dominican Republic, the barriers to building democracy in the country, and solutions in this way.
• Illiberal Democracy in Hungary and Turkey Today in Hungary and Turkey one can observe the process of establishment of the so-called illiberal democracy, although with different roots and manifestations.
• Democratic Republic vs. Socialist State This paper aims to examine and compare the Democratic Republic and the Socialist State and present a personal opinion regarding the two systems.
• Political Environment: Democrats and Republicans The contemporary American political environment has been impacted by the dichotomous role of two leading political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
• The Socratic Identification of Knowledge and Athenian Democracy It is clear that knowledge and wisdom are essential ingredients of life worth living because ignorance and the lack of understanding make life similar to animals.
• Russian Federation: Developing a Democracy As one of the advanced developing countries, Russian Federation also passes through the stage of democracy establishment.
• Russian Federation: Political History and Democracy The present paper will outline the key events in the political history of the Russian Federation and the barriers faced by the country in achieving democracy.
• Belarus: Developing a Democracy Belarus is one of the states that requires political changes to ensure that its citizens are given indefeasible rights to which they are entitled according to the basic principles of democracy.
• How Russian Federation Is Developing a Democracy Almost 30 years after, the modern political regime in Russia cannot be referred to as a democratic one, as its leader is represented by only one political party.
• How Botswana Is Developing a Democracy To avoid the system of authoritarian rule, Botswana people will require reinforcing the influence of its Democratic Party and other political alliances.
• How South Africa Is Developing a Democracy The lack of democratization within South African society can be seen as the primary problem that has to be managed for democratic principles to be established within the republic.
• American Democracy and Landmark Supreme Court Cases This essay ponders the key values of American democracy and describes landmark Supreme Court cases that have contributed to the formation of the political system.
• The Birth of the United States’ Democracy This paper discusses the theme of American democracy to understand its origins, why it was important, and who was involved in the process starting from 1776.
• Is the United States a Model Democracy? The US is a model democracy because it holds free, frequent, and inclusive elections, its citizens enjoy a wide range of individual freedoms and rights.
• Democracy Principles in the United States This essay will provide four reasons as to why the US was not built on the principles of democracy and has not genuinely complied with them to date.
• Democratization in El Salvador El Salvador’s residents were fed with a false notion of democracy under the thin veneer of which the authoritarian government promoted rightist ideas.
• American Foreign Policy Exporting Democracy American foreign policy is designed to meet several international goals but the priority areas over the years have been national security and defense.
• Americans for Democratic Action This paper discusses Americans for Democratic Action, abbreviated as ADA. Representatives of ADA tend to focus on the importance of such values as liberty and justice.
• Technologies and Equality for Democratic Society Education is a fundamental aspect of any democratic society or state. The fact is that ignorance and the lack of knowledge create the basis for speculations.
• American Democrat and German Dictator in 1933
• Democratic Deficit in Global Governance
• Mass Culture and Democratization
• Pro-Democratic Political Position in the US
• Sexism, Democracy, and Modernization
• Contemporary Democratic Ideals and Christian Tradition
• Revolutionary Communism vs. Democratic Socialism
• Democratic Theory Questions: “Missing and Murdered”
• Brazil’s Democracy and National Economic Performance
• Opioid Crisis Policy by Democrats and Republicans
• Democratic Views on Pro-Immigration
• South African Democracy and National Economic Performance
• The Concept of Democracy as a Historical Fiasco
• Dream Act as an Institution of American Democracy
• Democrats and Republicans in the New York State
• US Democracy and Its Media Representation
• Russian Democracy and Political Stability
• Wealth Inequality Effects on American Democracy
• Indian Democracy and National Economic Performance
• Jacksonian Democracy and Manifest Destiny
• Roosevelt and Hitler: Democrat and Dictator
• India and Brazil Democracy Analysis
• Pauli Murray’s Contribution to American Democracy
• Nigerian Democracy and National Economic Performance
• Natural Resources and Democracy in Political Economy
• The Arab Spring: New Patterns for Democracy
• Democratic Communities and Third-Party Conflict Management
• “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville
• Political Sciences: Building Global Democracy
• Democracy in America Between 1780 and 1830
• How Wealth Inequality Affects Democracy in America?
• Political Culture: Failure of Democracy in Iraq
• Representative Democracy and Its Crisis in Europe
• Political Parties in the Democratic World
• Democracy and National Economic Performance in China
• Should Democracy Be Promoted in Africa?
• Are Free Elections Necessary to Have a Democracy?
• Are Pressure Groups Good for Democracy?
• Which Country Has the Best Democracy in the World?
• How Does Democracy Help the World?
• Can Democracy Remedy Africa’s Problem?
• How Many Countries Have Democracy?
• Does Democracy Ensure Freedom?
• In Which Counties There Is No Democracy?
• Does Democracy Produce Worse Government Than Dictatorship Produce?
• Why Democracy Is a Good Form of Government?
• Does Democracy Work for the Entire World?
• What Is the World’s Oldest Democracy?
• How Did Hindenburg Undermine German Democracy in 1925-33?
• What Is the Role of Citizens in a Democracy?
• How Effective Was Athenian Democracy?
• Why Is Democracy Considered Much Superior?
• How Far Had Britain Moved Towards a Full Democracy by 1928?
• Who Started Democracy in the World?
• What Are the Freedoms of Living in a Democracy?
• Is Indian Democracy Alive and Kicking?
• Why Democracy Is Better Than Its Alternatives?
• When Democracy Is Considered Successful?
• Should Poorer Countries Embrace Democracy?
• What Are the Two Most Important Ideals of Democracy?
• What Is the Most Basic Outcome of Democracy?
• Was the First World War a War for More Democracy?
• What Are the Unique Traits of Athenian Democracy?
• What Are the Issues in Which Democracy Has Failed?
• What True Majority Democracy Is About?

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StudyCorgi. (2021, September 9). 212 Democracy Essay Topics & Research Questions about Democracy. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/democracy-essay-topics/

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StudyCorgi . "212 Democracy Essay Topics & Research Questions about Democracy." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/democracy-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "212 Democracy Essay Topics & Research Questions about Democracy." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/democracy-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Democracy were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 5, 2024 .

Research Topics & Ideas: Politics

100+ Politics-Related Research Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation or thesis. If you’ve landed on this post, chances are you’re looking for a politics-related research topic , but aren’t sure where to start. Here, we’ll explore a variety of politically-related research ideas across a range of disciplines, including political theory and philosophy, comparative politics, international relations, public administration and policy.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas. This is the starting point, but to develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. Also, be sure to sign up for our free webinar that explores how to find a high-quality research topic from scratch.

Overview: Politics-Related Topics

• Political theory and philosophy
• Comparative politics
• International relations
• Public administration
• Public policy
• Examples of politics-related dissertations

Topics & Ideas: Political Theory

• An analysis of the impact of feminism on political theory and the concept of citizenship in Saudi Arabia in the context of Vision 2030
• A comparative study of the political philosophies of Marxism and liberalism and their influence on modern politics
• An examination of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected the relationship between individual freedom and collective responsibility in political philosophy
• A study of the impact of race and ethnicity on French political philosophy and the concept of justice
• An exploration of the role of religion in political theory and its impact on secular democracy in the Middle East
• A Review of Social contract theory, comparative analysis of the political philosophies of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
• A study of the concept of the common good in political philosophy and its relevance to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe
• An examination of the relationship between political power and the rule of law in developing African countries
• A study of the impact of postmodernism on political theory and the concept of truth, a case study of the US
• An exploration of the role of virtue in political philosophy and its impact on the assessment of moral character in political leaders

Topics & Ideas: Comparative Politics

• A comparative study of different models of federalism and their impact on democratic governance: A case Study of South American federalist states
• The impact of ethnic and religious diversity on political stability and democracy in developing countries, a review of literature from Africa
• An analysis of the role of civil society in promoting democratic change in autocratic regimes: A case study in Sweden
• A comparative examination of the impact of globalization on political institutions and processes in South America and Africa.
• A study of the factors that contribute to successful democratization in authoritarian regimes, a review of the role of Elite-driven democratization
• A comparison of the political and economic systems of China and India and their impact on social development
• The impact of corruption on political institutions and democracy in South East Asia, a critical review
• A comparative examination of the impact of majoritarian representation (winner-take-all) vs proportional representation on political representation and governance
• An exploration of Multi-party systems in democratic countries and their impact on minority representation and policy-making.
• A study of the factors that contribute to successful decentralization and regional autonomy, a case study of Spain

Topics & Ideas: International Relations

• A comparative analysis of the effectiveness of diplomacy and military force in resolving international conflicts in Central Africa.
• The impact of globalization on the sovereignty of nation-states and the changing nature of international politics, a review of the role of Multinational Corporations
• An examination of the role of international aid organizations in promoting peace, security, and development in the Middle East.
• A study of the impact of economic interdependence on the likelihood of conflict in international relations: A critical review of weaponized interdependence
• A comparative analysis of the foreign policies of the EU and the US and their impact on international stability in Africa
• An exploration of the relationship between international human rights and national sovereignty during the Covid 19 pandemic
• A study of the role of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO)s in international politics and their impact on state behaviour
• A comparative analysis of the effectiveness of international regimes in addressing global challenges such as climate change, arms control, and terrorism in Brazil
• An examination of the impact of the rise of BRICS on the international system and global governance
• A study of the role of ideology in shaping the foreign policies of states and the dynamics of international relations in the US

Tops & Ideas: Public Administration

• An analysis of the impact of digital technology on public administration and the delivery of public services in Estonia
• A review of models of public-private partnerships and their impact on the delivery of public services in Ghana
• An examination of the role of civil society organizations in monitoring and accountability of public administration in Papua New Guinea
• A study of the impact of environmentalism as a political ideology on public administration and policy implementation in Germany
• An exploration of the relationship between public administration and citizen engagement in the policy-making process, an exploration of gender identity concerns in schools
• A comparative analysis of the efficiency and effectiveness of public administration, decentralisation and pay and employment reform in developing countries
• A study of the role of collaborative leadership in public administration and its impact on organizational performance
• A systematic review of the challenges and opportunities related to diversity and inclusion in police services
• A study of the impact of corrupt public administration on economic development and regional growth in Eastern Europe
• An exploration of the relationship between public administration and civil rights and liberties, including issues related to privacy and surveillance, a case study in South Korea

Topics & Ideas: Public Policy

• An analysis of the impacts of public policy on income inequality and poverty reduction in South Sudan
• A comparative study of the effectiveness of legal and regulatory, economic and financial, and social and cultural instruments for addressing climate change in South Korea
• An examination of the role of interest groups in shaping public policy and the policy-making process regarding land-use claims
• A study of the impact of globalization on the development of public policies and programs for mitigating climate change in Singapore
• An exploration of the relationship between public policy and social justice in tertiary education in the UAE
• A comparative analysis of the impact of health policies for the management of diabetes on access to healthcare and health outcomes in developing countries
• Exploring the role of evidence-based policymaking in the design and implementation of public policies for the management of invasive invertebrates in Australia
• An examination of the challenges and opportunities of implementing educational dietary public policies in developing multicultural countries
• A study of the impact of public policies on urbanization and urban development in rural Indonesia
• An exploration of the role of media and public opinion in shaping public policy and the policy-making process in the transport industry of Malaysia

Examples: Politics Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a politics-related research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various politics-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• We, the Righteous Few: Immoral Actions of Fellow Partisans are Judged as Less Possible (Varnam, 2020)
• Civilizing the State: Civil Society and the Politics of Primary Public Health Care Provision in Urban Brazil (Gibson, 2012)
• Political regimes and minority language policies: evidence from Taiwan and southeast Asia (Wu, 2021)
• The Feminist Third Wave: Social Reproduction, Feminism as Class Struggle, and Contemporary Women’s Movements (Angulo, 2019)
• The Politics of Immigration under Authoritarianism (Joo, 2019)
• The politics of digital platforms: Sour Dictionary, activist subjectivities, and contemporary cultures of resistance (Okten, 2019)
• Vote choice and support for diverse candidates on the Boston City Council At-Large (Dolcimascolo, 2022)
• The city agenda: local governance and national influence in the policy agenda, 1900-2020 (Shannon, 2022)
• Turf wars: who supported measures to criminalize homelessness in Austin, Texas? (Bompiedi, 2021)
• Do BITs Cause Opposition Between Investor Rights and Environmental Protection? (Xiong, 2022)
• Revealed corruption and electoral accountability in Brazil: How politicians anticipate voting behavior (Diaz, 2021)
• Intersectional Solidarity: The Political Consequences of a Consciousness of Race, Gender and Sexuality (Crowder, 2020)
• The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Coalitional Representation of Latinxs in the U.S. House of Representatives (Munoz, 2019)

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. In other words, to create a top-notch research topic, you must be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Get 1:1 Help

If you’re still feeling a bit unsure about how to find a research topic for your dissertation or research project, check out our Topic Kickstarter service below.

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Supporting ‘democracy’ is hard for many who feel government and the economy are failing them

Associate Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina

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Matthew Wilson is affiliated with the Varieties of Democracy Institute ( https://v-dem.net/about/v-dem-institute/scholars-and-staff/ ).

University of South Carolina provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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Americans, it seems, can both value the idea of democracy and not support it in practice .

Since 2016, academics and journalists have expressed concerns that formerly secure democracies are becoming less democratic . Different measures of democracy, such as scores produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit , Freedom House and the Varieties of Democracy Institute , have suggested as much based on data over the past decade.

The surveys have sounded alarms about the future of democratic governance in places such as the U.S., which the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance listed as “backsliding” since 2019.

A number of countries that were once considered stable democracies – such as Hungary, India and Nicaragua – have seen their leaders and representatives undermine government institutions in common ways: by encouraging division and polarization , spreading misleading or biased messages , pursuing strategies to unfairly dominate in elections , promoting loyalists and marginalizing opponents , and attacking efforts to hold leaders accountable .

This pattern across democracies raises questions about whether what’s called democratic backsliding is happening globally and which democracies are at risk of failing .

A report released recently by the Pew Research Center that describes the results of public opinion surveys on democracy and political representation in 24 countries, including the U.S., has added to those concerns.

A substantial portion of respondents feel unrepresented by their governments, and 59% are dissatisfied with how their democracy is functioning. Three-quarters of respondents indicate that elected officials do not care what people like them think, and 42% say that no political party in their country represents their views.

In the U.S., Pew reports that 66% are dissatisfied with how democracy is working, 83% feel overlooked by officials, and 49% feel overlooked by political parties. Such pessimistic trends are not new; a Gallup Poll in 2021 and a Pew survey from 2022 both reported that Americans’ trust in government is low.

One of the most unsettling statistics from the recent survey is that 32% of Americans think that “rule by a strong leader or the military would be a good way of governing their country .” This particular finding has been taken as evidence for the idea that a growing number of Americans support replacing democracy with an authoritarian government .

Are Americans losing faith in democracy?

Not quite. Instead, respondents may be losing faith in current institutions’ ability to deliver what they expect out of democracy.

Democracy’s different definitions

Most Americans support democracy as a concept.

Pew found that about 75% of respondents in the U.S. think that representative democracy is a good way of governing . A 2023 study also showed that Americans tend to see themselves as being more committed to democracy, while viewing members of the other party as being more likely to subvert democracy.

But people hold different ideas about what “democracy” is and what it should look like.

When asked to define democracy, those who emphasize electoral and liberal aspects – such as free elections and civil liberties – are more likely to indicate support for democracy . Research shows that commitment to these values is strongly related to democracy support .

In contrast, those who define democracy in terms of its ability to deliver economic security, such as taxing the rich and helping the unemployed, show weaker support for it . This suggests that when people in more democratic countries think that democracy is supposed to alleviate income disparities, they tend to be less satisfied with how democracy is working.

Respondents’ evaluations of whether their country is democratic – or whether democracy is functioning as intended – can therefore be influenced by whether they are economically well off and whether they feel their values are represented in society . Those who are benefiting more from the current political situation are more likely to support it .

Citizens’ desires for a strong leader may largely reflect economic dissatisfaction that overlaps with social and political shifts , such as changes in demographic diversity, family structures and religiousness . Competition with other groups over power and resources presents threats that make people more concerned about their future well-being than about how democracy is functioning.

Many may think that democracy is broken because it neither provides what they expect nor reflects the values they hold. Being laid off and experiencing rising food prices, or disapproving of prevailing positions on socially divisive issues such as abortion, can lead a person to think that supporting mainstream politicians and the usual practice of electing officials is not enough to guarantee that their interests are represented.

Using dissatisfaction to undermine democracy

The Pew survey does not directly indicate that American citizens do not support democracy. But it does reveal an important vulnerability.

The results suggest that a substantial portion of citizens might support a leader working outside of democracy’s institutions – by breaking laws and avoiding accountability for it – because they have lost faith in those institutions’ ability to deliver their version of good governance.

Dissatisfaction with government performance and concerns about socioeconomic well-being can lead citizens to support someone who is willing to flout constitutional rules to restore what they consider to be a broken democracy.

When facing changes that they deem a threat to their economic and social security, voters may gravitate toward someone who can “fix” the problem .

This has the potential to erode the very freedoms that respondents profess to care about. Populist leaders can use dissatisfaction and people’s feelings of being left behind or excluded to build support and justify antidemocratic stances.

Recognizing this is important for understanding how citizens can intrinsically value democracy – and undermine it at the same time . Although people may think they share similar definitions of it, democracy is a complex concept.

Concluding that citizens do not support democracy based on the survey does not address what those citizens think democracy is.

• Public opinion
• Authoritarianism
• Democratic backsliding
• Pew Research Center
• 2024 US presidential election

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423 Democracy Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best democracy topic ideas & essay examples, 🥇 most interesting democracy topics to write about, 👍 good essay topics on democracy, ✅ simple & easy democracy essay titles, 📌 democracy writing prompts, 🔍 good research topics about democracy, ❓ essay questions about democracy.

• Differences and Similarities Between Democracy and Authoritarian Government Essay This implies that the citizens have a way of participating in the formation of the rules and laws by which they are governed. The laws that govern the rights of people and the economy are […]
• Michelle Obama American Dream Speech Analysis – Michelle’s purpose was to introduce her husband as man who was more concerned about the common citizens’ concerns and who was willing and able to help everyone to realize his/her American dream because he himself […]
• Democracy in the Philippines Our organizational policy we introduced in the Philippines is the same as the policies we introduced on other countries, i.e, we wanted to be a part in promoting tourism in the country by promoting the […]
• Democracy Arguments For and Against Arguments against democracy are that it is not the best option for decision making, it encourages anarchy and hence lack of unity and that democracy encourages people who do not have sufficient political expertise to […]
• Social Media and Democracy For example, in 2009, during the Iran elections, citizens were able to comment on Facebooks and Youtube, and the whole world was able to follow the election proceedings.
• Similarities and Differences Between Communism and Democratic Socialism This is because, according to the proponents of both ideologies, in Capitalist countries, the majority of ordinary citizens are denied the right to have a fair share in the national wealth.
• Concept of Democratic Education Theory The learners have greater voice on what to learn and are involved in discussing the content and the structure of their curriculum.
• What Is the Relationship Between Capitalism and Democracy? The importance of the roles played by the stock market in the capitalistic economy is related considerably to the aspects of democracy and free market.
• Encouraging Voter Participation in Democratic Election Process The voting process should be concerned with high voter turnout rather than trust since losing legislatures is responsible for the lack of trust among voters in the entire process.
• Leadership Styles: Democratic, Autocratic and Laissez-Faire According to McNichol and Hamer, the participative approach, compared to the other styles, enhances the productivity of employees for a prolonged period of time as it encourages cooperation and increases staff morale. As a democratic […]
• Does Democracy Require Equality of Income or Wealth? While wealth equality as the presence of equivalent opportunities to exert political power appears to be the essential factor in establishing democracy, income equality as the opportunity to build wealth is also a factor.
• Democratic and Undemocratic Elements of the Constitution The judicial arm, also known as the Supreme Court, functioned to establish the jurisdiction of particular cases under the US judicial system; the disposition of convicted prisoners; and the production of evidence and testimonies as […]
• Democratic Governance Concept The United States proves to be a main player in the promotion of democratic governance in countries where conflict dictatorship and war is involved.
• Democratic Leadership Styles and Patient Outcomes Democratic leadership positively impacts patient outcomes as it influences nurses to participate in all processes of the organization and contribute to its development.
• Success or Failure of Democracy In terms of equality in democracy, Tocpeuville observes that this becomes the form of government in a democracy since no one becomes right than the other.
• Democracy and Custom in Samoa From the perspective of modern democracy, the author concludes that customs and traditions that are in the constitution of Samoa are not essential because they hinder the development of democracy in the country.
• The Complex Term of Democracy The second face of democracy is that of rights and liberties consisting of given basic rights and freedoms that the law to citizenry must guarantee.
• Democracy in Modern World All these events in the world history strengthened the thought that democracy is the only right and progressive form of authority in a state that will finally bring the overall population of the state to […]
• Importance of News in Democracy The journalists are always on the lookout for areas of socio political and economic importance with the aim of reporting to the people in order to attract the required responses which may alter the sociopolitical […]
• Socialism & Democracy: Fundamental Believes and Concepts The most distinct difference between the socialism and democracy is that in socialism we are mostly focusing our energies on the governance of the economic activities and the economic systems of a given country while […]
• What Is More Valuable in a Liberal Democracy: Positive or Negative Liberty? In the understanding of the concept of liberty, it is equally important to underscore the fact that it promotes freedom within a society.
• Study of Liberal Democracy In the true sense of liberal democracy, the government is chosen by the voters, and in this sense, the government should answer to the people.
• Democratic vs. Autocratic Leadership Styles Thus, one of the main advantages of the democratic model is that all individuals who are affected by a certain situation have an opportunity to outline their views and participate in decision-making.
• Democracy and Dictatorship As a matter of fact, the paths above show some means that connect political and economic composition of a community to a political institution. The panorama of the existing democracy in this path is weak […]
• The UK Parliament and Democratic Legislature The critical point about the UK Parliament is the importance of tradition in its structure and functioning, affecting the selection process, the arrangement of power, and the communication between the members of the Parliament.
• A Dream Deferred and Democracy by Langston Hughes But if they over dry, they will become hard to chew and lose all the nutrition, This warns us of the consequences that may befall us if we sit there and wait for conditions to […]
• Founding Fathers as Democratic Reformers In fact, he describes them as ‘superb democratic politicians.’ The author affirms that the founding fathers dedicated their efforts to serving the Americans within an autonomous framework that welcomed the decisions of the public.’James Madison […]
• The National Curriculum for England and Wales From an Ideal Democratic Learning Society Perspective The National Curriculum of England and Wales is based on the ideology of “curriculum as prescription” as is evidence from the rigidity of the curriculum.
• The Democratic Peace Theory: Merits and Demerits Chioza et al.say that among the reasons that makes it possible to intertwine the democratic peace theory with the liberal theory is that many countries are in dire need of peace. There is a good […]
• History of Athenian Democracy There were three main bodies that governed the affairs of Athens and they were the assembly, the council and the courts all which were run by representatives of the people.
• Is America a True Democracy? It is a fact that the United States was the first country in the world to have a democratic constitution. Electoral College The Electoral College is another process that puts democracy of the United States […]
• Modernization and Its Correlation With Democracy The thesis statement In order to understand modernization-democracy link, the advantages and disadvantages concerning the issues’ interdependence, it is necessary to analyze the reasons of the processes of modernization and the ways they transformed democratic […]
• Public Speaking in a Democracy Public speaking actually matters for a democracy, because it is a good and sometimes the only chance to save democracy that is eroding now, to improve communicative skills, and to underline the problems that prevent […]
• “Democracy for the Few” by Michael Parenti In order to consolidate their control over the information that is provided to the representatives of the general public, corporations also started to influence the context of the advertisements.
• In What Ways Did American Culture Become More Democratic in the Early 19th Century The latter were used as instruments for airing the voices of the people. The party was keen in drawing the attention of workers who were facing the hard times of industrial revolution.
• Women’s Rights and the Advancement of Democracy The degree of citizen involvement in the political process, including the participation of various social groups in political parties and decision-making bodies, determines the quality of democracy in addition to the structure of current political […]
• The Democrats and the Whigs of 1830-1840 The Jacksonian Democrats and the Wigs were interested in American society’s modernization and economic development. However, the parties had different views on achieving economic efficiency and prosperity and the role of government in the economy.
• Democratic Principle: The Constitution of the US The two major democratic principles are closely interrelated and the parties involved into them can actually change places from time to time: the minority has the right to become the majority, thus the latter becomes […]
• Canada as a Liberal Capitalist Democracy It includes also the re-organization of the enterprises in order to make a profit, for instance, changing management of the enterprise or adding new departments in the organization.
• The Democratic Process in Canada: The Role Played by Political Parties More specifically, the paper analyzes the political parties within the context of the Canadian form of democracy. The author is of the belief that political parties facilitate the democratic process in the country.
• History of the Role of Democracy in the World One common characteristic that I have observed in the development of democracy is a trend whereby democracy first took root in the empowered ruling class, before spreading to other segments of the society.
• Leadership Styles: Democratic and Collective The difference between Democratic and Collective Participative styles, however, lies in the role of the leader in decision-making.
• Organizational Theory: Democratic Leadership Taylorism is based on the theory of scientific management and the idea that output is linked to payment. Moreover, the framework implies the presence of a string hierarchy, which can be damaging to the morale […]
• Types of Democracy Known to Modern Society In conclusion, some of the types of democracy are representative, participatory, and deliberative. Deliberative is a rather intriguing form of democracy, where people are randomly chosen to express views.
• Stock Market Performance During Republican and Democratic Presidencies To compare the stock market performance during Republican and Democratic presidencies, the stock market data for the S&P 500 index over the past few decades were computed.
• Democratic Development in Colombia vs. Peru After a downturn in 2015 and a boom in 2009 due to the global financial crisis of 2008, the country’s economy is back on track as of 2016 and is riding the rising tide that […]
• Structures of Direct Democracy in California Others may argue that the proposition is a strength of direct democracy because it allows for the people’s will to be directly expressed and implemented.
• Emerging Democracy and Education in South Africa In the process of education reformation, the example of South Africa can be used to demonstrate the ability to shape the democratic mindset of the population by increasing the focus on critical thinking and civic […]
• American Democracy: Role of Anger The fact that the incident on January 6 was followed by a number of occasions where agents were seen engaged in sensitive operations makes it feasible to comprehend the explanation behind the public’s mistrust of […]
• Populism and Its Influence on Democracy Essentially, it explores the connections shared between Populism and authoritarianism and the potential democratic setbacks that might arise from the rise of authoritarian Populism.
• Women’s Rights: Democratic Perceptions Therefore, it is proper to claim that women would not be able to exercise their rights and freedoms as frequently without the efforts of Democrats.
• The Work “Republic” by Plato: Arguments for Democracy The primary argument that democracy is worse than timarchy and oligarchy derives directly from the text of Republic, where Socrates agrees that only tyranny is worse than democracy.
• Democracy: The Influence of Freedom Democracy is the basis of the political systems of the modern civilized world. Accordingly, the democracy of Athens was direct that is, without the choice of representatives, in contrast to how it is generated nowadays.
• The Article “Plato on Democracy and Expertise” by R. W. Sharples The central message permeating the writing is that the rigidity of truth on which the conceptual model of democracy is built is a problem since any system needs to acknowledge the malleability of the underlying […]
• Is a Secret Ballot a Basic Tenet of Democracy? The Supremacy Clause establishes that federal laws, constitutions, and regulations take precedence over state laws.”This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States…under the Authority of the United States, will be the supreme Law of […]
• Processes of Democratization in Spain, Portugal, and Greece Kornetis and Cavallaro claim that the processes of democratization resulted in the collapse of “the Francoist regime, the Salazar-Caetano regime of Estado Novo, and the Colonels’ military dictatorship in Greece “.
• Democracy and Its Crucial Features The equality of income and wealth remain the central issue of democracy, since, though democratic societies strive to egalitarianism, they fall short of ensuring equal income and wealth to everyone.
• Can the Democrats Win Back Rural Voters? The article used the Movement Lab approach to be able to win back the rural voters. The article relates to voting and election topic because it deals with voter turnout and strategies to be used […]
• Threat of Cyber Operations to Democracy and National Security Among its most important characteristics include the recognition of individual’s dignity, respect for equality, faith in the rule of the majority, and respect for the rights of the minority.
• Aspects of Democratic Regimes In the textbook, Dickovick and Eastwood, democratic regimes are described as ones where people individually and groups have the ability to voice and contest their ideas, as well as the opportunity to shape political life […]
• Characteristics of American Democracy Conversely, American democracy allows everyone and anybody to have the same opportunities regardless of the situation it is about, based on equal rights in the United States.
• Democrats Caught in Election-Year Gambit With Bloated Gas Prices These Midterms would be one of the most consequential in history as they will likely decide the political gridlock and demonstrate the voter confidence in the party that wins the majority.
• Abstracts for “Democracy: What’s It Good For?” and “The New Concert of Powers” The subject of the essay Democracy: What’s It Good For? is related to the issues of democracy in terms of its efficiency regarding the misinformation and irrationality of people’s choices.
• Corruption in Infrastructure of the Democratic Republic of Congo The mining companies are negatively affected by rampant corruption and a culture of everyday transactions, which has resulted in the misappropriation of public funds.
• Are Propositions, Recalls, and Referendums Democratic? According to this kind of leadership, a government is a social body retrieving its authority from the population and should always promote the will of the masses, especially the majority.
• Corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo This is a comprehensive report published by the IMF that examines in tremendous detail the corruption, policy, and frameworks of governance and corruption in the DRC.
• Struggles of Democracy: Social Insurance Programs There are always segments of people in the society who struggle more than the general population, and by taking measures, the government increases the economic growth and general well-being.
• Jackson Democracy: Transformation of American Conservatism Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of the United States of America, his term of office lasted from 1829 to 1837.
• The Meaning of Liberal Democracy in the US The establishment of diplomatic relations with the USSR during Roosevelt’s presidency was an important event in the history of the two states and the entire history of the world.
• Democracy in Ancient Greece and Today From the lecture, I discovered that the word democracy partly originates from the word demes which means the small division of the bigger sections that Athens was divided into during the ancient time.
• The Diplock Courts and the Democratic Society The legal definition of the term is still ambiguous, but the best definition is considered to be the achievement of ideological, political, economic, or religious goals by violent means.
• “Korean Film: History, Resistance, and Democratic Imagination” by Min et al. The key message of the article in question is that Korean film culture is complex and heterogeneous, but it has yet to receive at the time of writing the attention it deserves from the progressive […]
• Jury Service as an Essential Part of the Democracy A Jury Service is an integral part of the U.S.judicial branch, due to which people can make responsible decisions and understand that their opinion is essential to the state.
• Democracy, Republicanism, and Liberalism in 19th Century Mexico and Colombia They emphasized the role of Mexico and its republican, democratic, and liberal principles in those changes. They started to imitate the political principles in Europe and the U.
• The Democratic Radicals and Conservatives Struggle of American Government The roots of the American government can be traced back to the aftermath of the American civil war and the results of the American War of Independence.
• Zinn’s and Schweikart’s Beliefs on American Democracy Namely, Zinn’s personal assumptions concerning the problem of racism and colonialism as the cornerstone of inequality in the U.S.are represented clearly in the book.
• Trust and Democracy Overview It will create a status quo where the American model of democracy that has been recognized and revered in the world is no longer a democracy but merely an illusion of one.
• Racial Democracy in Brazil Racial democracy in Brazil is a phenomenon connected to the idea that racial differences encourage individuals to look for a broad identity that would include every population presented in the country.
• Democratic Republic of Congo’s Refugee Crisis The refugee crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo is one example of how refugees suffer because of poor healthcare access and the inability to provide for themselves.
• Plato’s Views on Democracy Plato’s point of view appeared to me as a more appealing out of the two presented opinions on the best course for a political regime within a country.
• How to Make People Who Support Democrats Believe in Aliens The ones who are convinced in their existence the way they trust the course of actions proposed by Democrats help overcome the threat for the stability of the government.
• “After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy” by Coyne The reason for this is that the United States has used the excuse of protecting democracy when interfering in the internal affairs of different states.
• “Engendering Democracy in Brazil” by Sonia Alvarez In addition, the review integrates information acquired from essays by Barbara Nelson and Saint-Germain regarding gender equality and the electoral participation of women in democratic processes.
• The Democratic Political Strategy in Florida Establishing a connection to the Florida audiences can be especially advantageous for the democratic party, as it can let them know of all the recent changes and developments.
• Deliberative Democracy as an Improvement of Democratic Participation More specifically, the schools of a democratic system of most significant interest are deliberative democracy and democratic participation. At the same time, deliberative democracy realizes the political interest of every citizen in a thorough discussion.
• Democratic Politics and Australian Attitudes According to Stoker et al, the younger generations are usually blamed for the emergence of the aforementioned tendency. Overall, the primary idea behind the study consisted of disproving the presupposition, according to which young people […]
• America’s Voting Democracy: Failing After All Even though the United States did not start as a democracy and it took hundreds of years to ensure voting rights for the general populations in its entirety, these are still not the grounds to […]
• Theories of Global Politics. Democracy Effectiveness In the classical theme of ancient Athenian society, it is the representation of the ‘will of the people’ and had to include the views of all citizens in the decision making matters.
• Democratic Rule and Educated Citizenry They may think it is simply a matter of taxing big business in order to get something for the whole town, when, in reality, the higher tax will result in lower needed investment in the […]
• How Social Media Could Threaten Democracy The next paragraph of this law will state that an organization must prove that it is based in the country to run a politically related ad on social media.
• In a Democratic Britain, the Monarchy Is an Anachronism The presence of the queen as the head of state instils a sense of responsibility and ethics among the political leaders.
• Russia’s Contemporary Political Regime not Democratic Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin was elected the first president of the Russian Federation on the 12th in June 1991. Some argue that the idea of politics as a mean for […]
• Robespierre From Democracy to Totalitarianism Consequently, as a result of the failure of the constitutional monarch and the foreign wars that threatened the French Jacobins, the Committee of Public Safety was constituted in part of the new Republic, on April […]
• The Internet is a Democratic Technology As opposed to what in the media channels of communication where the information let out to the public is filtered and influenced by what the government want the people to know, the Internet is free […]
• International Political Economy, Democratization, and Terrorism IPE describes the global power dynamics that control international trade and finance, fuel globalization, and wealth distribution across the globe. Sachs argues that globalization and the emergence of political economics have led to the increased […]
• Democracy and Black Lives Matter It then continued as a series of protests against racial prejudice and police brutality ones that the police attempted to subdue with force.
• The New State of Israel: A Block to the Development of Democracy Since the infamous Palestine conflict is rooted deeply in political, cultural, social, and religious misconceptions between the Jewish and the Muslim residents of the area, the advocacy of the current Israeli strategy concerning the emphasis […]
• Internet Function and Potential in a Democratic Society This situation is comparable to the Medieval Age before the introduction of printing in the 1440s. The church and the courts monopolized books, and the population had no chance to learn an alternative opinion on […]
• Democracy, Political Power, and Public Policy Issues 1 Now, the question of balance between democracy and political power is as relevant as it was decades ago, being the center of the debate in the United States and the rest of the world.
• Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City’ by Robert Dahl A political stratum is defined as a group of individuals who take an active position in the political life of the country.
• Democratic Presidential Nominees for 2020 American society is a complex concept with many determinants, and the election of the President in the country is one of the most significant events because it shows the achieved progress and preferred values.
• Truthful Information for Building a Democracy Democracy is defined as the rule of the people, by the people for the people. Greenberg and page argue that for a democratic government to be established, information is of the essence.
• Francis Fukuyama: Can Liberal Democracy Survive the Decline of the Middle Class? Then, the author shifts to explaining the importance of the existence of a strong and abundantly represented in the society middle class layer as it is a foundation for all the democratic values in the […]
• Democracy in Asia India and the Price of Peaceful Change In his last kick, Gandhi decided to encourage the Indians to make their own salt, which was the most taxed by the British government.
• Israel as the Jewish and Democratic State: Can It Be Possible? However, the historical evaluation of the situation in Israel and the development of the Israel-Palestinian conflict that led to the Israel war of independence in 1948 and continues today shows that it is not an […]
• Ancient Democracy: Review All of the Athenians were involved in the process of selecting the candidates for the positions of the Archons the advisors to the ruler of the city.
• The Democratic Presidential Debate The part of the debate concerning the immigration policies and the candidate’s views of them is highly representative of the overall rhetorical strategies in use.
• “Inequality, Democracy, and the Environment” by Downey Liam Downey examines in his work Inequality, democracy, and the environment, the nature of these problems and tries to explain the causes of their occurrence.
• Organizational Culture: Democratic Leadership Democratic leadership would be an effective approach to leading others in the workplace because members of a group are allowed to offer their ideas that are applied to solve problems.
• Differences Between the Democrats and Republicans The activin expression in a marrow stromal cells is however regulated by the incubation with the necrosis factor of the tumor and the interleukin 1 alpha.
• Democracy Emergence in Ancient Greece and Why Plato Was Opposed to It The result of this war was the defeat of Athens by Sparta at the end of the fifth century which led to the overthrow of many democratic regimes.
• Democracy: Forms, Requirements and Homosexuality Democracy exists in two major forms there is the liberal democracy which is a very capitalistic economic approach in nature while the other form is a socialist democracy that embraces economic aspects like subsidies and […]
• Democratic Governance and Policy Networks The contribution of each of these actors was valuable for improving the quality of legislation which became the result of the collaborative work of the interested parties.
• Rape as a Weapon of War: Democratic Republic of Congo While some researchers argue that the occurrence of wartime rape, with its frequency, savagery and systematic organization during these times, is inherently entwined with the nature of the conflicts, most of them emphasize that the […]
• A Government and Basic Democratic Requirements to It In pluralism, the people who make policies are the top government officials and they do not involve the public. The relevance of involvement in the implementation of government policies is not clear to the citizens.
• “Jihad Versus Mcworld” by Benjamen Barber: Tribalism and Globalism Threat to Democracy The forces of Jihad and the forces of McWorld are fighting for sovereignty and neither supports democracy. It is the decentralization of confederations that may save democracy, according to Barber.
• Parliamentary Democracy: Will of the People Representation The party with the majority votes is sought to be representing the will of the people. In The will of the people: Notes towards a dialectical voluntarism, Peter Hallward states that the will of the […]
• Terrorism and Liberal Democracy: What We Should Know When confronted with external coercion like global terrorism, democracies react like a pendulum by first of all providing security and then vacillating back in the direction of moderation, the quest of lenience, and the encouragement […]
• Greek and Hellenistic World and Democracy In addition to the above, the model of democracy in Greece was composed of the Assembly, the Council and the courts that were collectively referred to as the governing bodies.
• Is the Constitution Supportive of Today’s Democracy? Additionally, one of the dominant elements in most constitutions is the principle of democracy which refers to the government by the people for the people themselves.
• Jihad vs. Mcworld Article: How Globalization Hinders Democracy In the recent past, most economies in the world have been adopting strategies aimed at increasing democracy in all areas of the economy i.e.political, economic, social, etc.globalization is one of the factors that influence the […]
• Supreme Court’s Interpretation of Democracy This was seen in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment in a case involving Sherbert and Verner. The court mentioned the importance of a compelling interest from the state in regard to employment […]
• Benjamin’s Concept of Democracy Against Bennett’s Propositions on News and Democracy However, what seems good to many seems to work better and much more acceptable, from this point of view it is fair to reiterate Churchill’s pronouncement that, the present democracy is the best of all […]
• Origin and History of the Democratic Party and the Federal Constitution The acknowledgement of the USA independence by the Great Britain and the ratification of the treaty of peace of the 1783 at once led to the formation of schemes and the organization of factions, having […]
• Asian Experience in Democratization As long as the authorities in some of the Asian countries are elected, democracies in these countries still lack the characteristics which can be associated with democracy in other parts of the world.”In other words, […]
• Democratic Transition in Asian Communities As long as the authorities in some Asian countries are elected, democracies in these countries still lack the characteristics which can be associated with democracy in other parts of the world.”In other words, if a […]
• The Latin American Democracy: The Creation of Policy Policy, it is no surprise, is created in Latin American countries in manners that directly correlate with each system’s structure of accountability for their representatives, as is the case in every democracy.
• The Crises of Democracy, Society, and Environment The severity of the situation arises due to the homogeneity of American intelligentsia on the idea of democracy and the reported submissiveness towards all actions taken by the Government and capitalists to be right.
• The Sources of Leadership and Democracy in Britain Also, the powers of the British Government are derived from the appeal or iron authority of the British rulers to the party blocs rather than from the power of the influence of the leaders to […]
• Democratization Theories at the Present Political Map The world history witnessed a great number of changes in the political state of countries, in the form of ruling and the change as well as the form of power in every state existing nowadays.
• Human Rights and Global Democracy by Michael Goodhart Considering that the current human rights bodies focus mostly on rights of individuals, there is needs for translating the rights in a global context.
• Democracy Is the Best Form of Government for All the World’s Inhabitants The challenge to the leaders, therefore, is to provide good leadership and governance to reciprocate the good work of the voters.
• Democratic Empowerment via Village Elections During Imperial China The villager assembly oversees the progress of the VCs and ensures that the decisions they make are for the common good of the rest of the villagers.
• Anti-Democratic Movement and Path of Democratization According to Lijphart, the Westminster model of democracy provides a throughout insight into the essence of democracy not only in the United Kingdom but in the rest of the world as well.
• Deliberative Democracy Case Studies When the government fails to give the reasons for engaging in war, citizens have the right to question justification of the government for the war and the respect it gives the citizens.
• Democrats vs. Republicans: Who Is Superior? The differences between the democratic regimes and the republicans have been described using all sorts of criteria. Under democrats, the lower 20% of the population tends to match the income growth of the top 5%.
• Torture and Democratic Society 1948, United Nations General Assembly, after the second world war adopted the Universal declaration on human rights, which prohibits the use of torture or any other form of inhuman or demeaning treatment or punishment In […]
• The State, Democracy and Globalization In order for people to understand the government there should be a system of communicating the state policies to the local individuals.
• Ideology of Race and the New Democratic Nation His main argument in this matter is that whilst racism did not at first lead the colonists in enslaving the blacks, the concept of the native hereditary inferiority on the component of Africans and African […]
• Roadblocks to Democracy in Iraq A huge part of Iraq has remained isolated from government control for the larger part of their history as a result of the harsh terrain and topography alongside lack of building material to construct roads.
• Revolutionary Vision: Popular Democracy or Elite Plutocracy? For instance, there are not many people who know how exactly the Constitution of the USA was created and adopted: “When the Constitution was completed, “the majority of the people were completely against it”.
• Ideology of the Democratic Party The Democratic Party of USA is the oldest political party in the world. Dilemma and destiny: the Democratic Party in America.
• Slavery and Democracy in 19th Century America In the 19th century when white folks are busy building a nation and taking part in the more significant aspects of creating a new future for their children, Negro slaves were still doing a backbreaking […]
• Comparing Democracy Effort Between Mali and the USA Abraham Lincoln defined it as a government of the people, for the people and by the people. The main function of the judiciary in Mali is the protection and guard of human rights and freedoms.
• Venezuela: A Democracy Under Siege This essay will critically evaluate Venezuela in different aspects in the following order : democratic principles and the constitution, political systems, economic policies and institutions, the media, and civil societies to show how Chavez is […]
• A Critique on Deliberative Democracy The belief that the United States of America is a democratic country automatically create the assumption that it is a government by the people, for the people, and of the people as laid down by […]
• Will China Become Democratic in Near Future? China, being one of the countries yet truly to begin the process of democratization, stands on a point that future progress will be important not only for the people in China but also for the […]
• Relationship Between Democracy and Violence in Colombia The escalating violence in the 1980s has in fact, watered-down Colombia’s democratic governance mainly because of the country’s incapacity to tame the violence.
• The Role of Media in the Democratization of Lebanon Even today, the country is considered to be one of the banking hubs of the Western Asia region and this can be evidenced by the fact that during the periods before the civil war in […]
• Relationship Between Democracy and the State If leaders are not visionary and their ideas are not cohesive, the situation leads to the formation of splinter groups within the state, a condition that is unbefitting for the health of a democracy.
• Kwangju Democratization Movement The Chun Doo-Hwan government was not justified in the use of force during the Kwangju democratization movements and failed in the restoration of democracy in the country.
• Democracy in the Educational Process He gives us the understanding of the changing attitude to the democracy in the society. The public education was organized by the idea of “democratic community and equality”.
• American Culture of Liberty and Democracy Undoubtedly democracy is the government of the people, for the people, by the people.’ But it is also true that it is only a part of the people of which the government is, has raised, […]
• The Role of Education in Democracy Propaganda is in itself an aspect of education where the Public Information Committee provided some knowledge on the certain issues surrounding the war in order to win public support.
• Descriptive Meaning of Democracy This term is however modified in meaning nowadays and it can be used in various applications; that is, it is used in a variety of ways depending on the time of use, the place where […]
• Democracy Threats in Australia Governance as the rule of the people by the people has been more subjected to the teachings of democracy that have been adopted as a form of governance.
• Modern China – Is True Democracy Still a Dream? There is a dormant-volcano kind of “sub-terranean tensions” that seem to herald the beginning of the end for communism in China.
• The Battle Over Democracy Within Burma However, the military government in Burma remained controlling the political affairs and economy of the country which made the condition of the people to get worse.
• Utopian Society: National Socialism and Libertarian Democracy In its turn, this will effectively eliminate the need for the policies of social appeasement to be practiced in our society.
• The Synergy Between Capitalism and Democracy
• The Nature of Democracy in the Period 1871-1914
• Elitism and Democracy Relations
• Democratization of China: History
• American Imperialism and Democracy
• Democrats and Rebuplicans Political Campaigns
• Democracy: The Greatest Gift Enlighten-Ica Can Give
• Weimar Democracy History Analysis: Why the Organization Failed
• Classical Political Thought. Democracy in Plato’s Republic
• Elements of Democracy and Constitutionalism
• Democracy: Under the Influence
• Aspect of Democracy in Seattle
• Democracy and Dictatorship in Ancient Greece and Today
• Haiti and Cape Verde Democracy: History and Philosophy
• Habermas’s Theory of Democracy
• Relevance of Building Democratic Institutions in Russia
• Germany and Poland Passages to Democracy Comparison
• Southeast Asian Changing Experience of Democracy
• The Level of Democracy in Singapore and Thailand
• Democratic Breakdown in Latin America
• Democracy Within the Realm of a Republic
• Urban Democracy and Capitalism
• Democratic Party in the US: History and Analysis
• Democratic Consolidation in Africa
• Public Opinion: The Image of Democracy by Lippmann
• Democracy and Freedom in Pakistan
• Public Opinion and Democracy: Under the Influence?
• Direct Democracy in Switzerland and Slovak Republic
• Citizenship Education and Democracy
• Failed Democracy in Pakistan and Nigeria
• Success of Democracy in US: Comparative Approach for Explaining
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Liz mckenna awarded carnegie fellowship to research threats to democracy.

HKS Assistant Professor Liz McKenna has been awarded a prestigious Carnegie Fellowship recognizing her deep scholarship on the ways that civil society organizations can empower democracy.

Photo by Bethany Versoy

Elizabeth McKenna, assistant professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, has been awarded a prestigious Carnegie Fellowship, recognizing her deep scholarship on the ways that civil society organizations can empower democracy — or threaten it. 

The Carnegie Corporation today  announced  its 2024 class in the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program from universities across the United States. Another Harvard University faculty member, Taeku Lee, the Bau Family Professor of Government in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, also was named one of this year’s 28 Carnegie Fellows.  

The fellowship, founded in 2015, was paused in 2023 to allow a shift toward addressing political polarization, which Carnegie President Dame Louise Richardson described as a driver of the frightening fragility of American democracy. “We would like to understand this polarization, what caused it, what perpetuates it, and above all, how it might be mitigated or even reversed by strengthening the forces of cohesion in our society,” Richardson said last year in announcing the new focus. 

“I’m so honored and grateful to be named a 2024 Carnegie Fellow,” McKenna said. “Democracy is facing critical threats in the United States and around the world, and it is increasingly clear that responding to these threats by simply mobilizing people — even in large numbers — is insufficient to meet the challenges of our time. The fellowship will support research I’ve been doing in partnership with social movement practitioners who want to move beyond immediate reaction, organize constituencies across lines of difference, and create a political system and policies that work for the many rather than the few.” 

Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf said, “Liz McKenna is more than just a world-class scholar. She also brings a passion for understanding how organizations in civil society can shape political power. Together, these qualities make her an ideal Carnegie Fellow as the program takes on the global threat of polarization.” 

McKenna’s close study of civil society and community organizations and their impact on democracy underpinned her first book in 2014, “Groundbreakers: How Obama’s 2.2 Million Volunteers Transformed Campaigning in America.” In 2021, she was a co-author of “Prisms of the People: Power and Organizing in 21st Century America,” recipient of the Michael Harrington Book Award, which recognizes how political science scholarship can help improve democracy.

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Why Has the United States Become So Polarized?

The 2024 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows will pursue answers to fundamental questions about political polarization as part of an initiative to build a body of research that will inform grantmaking and policy to strengthen U.S. democracy

Many of us make assumptions about polarization, but how sure are we that we are right? Our scholars are developing a body of research around its causes and implications.

Why do so many Americans appear to vote for candidates more extreme than themselves — or fail to vote at all? Could we predict which conspiracy theories will become violent or harmful, and stop them before they spread? How do online algorithms exacerbate political polarization, and could we redesign them to lessen it? What does political polarization do to our health?

These questions and more are part of 28 new projects funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York that will contribute to a body of research around political polarization in the United States. The philanthropic foundation will commit up to $6 million annually to the program for at least the next three years.

“Today, we are absolutely delighted to announce the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Class of 2024. This initiative represents a commitment by the Corporation to mine academia for ideas that will help us to understand one of the most critical problems facing the country, the problem of polarization, which is tearing our society apart and damaging our democracy,” said Dame Louise Richardson , president of the Corporation. “Where did this polarization come from? How did it evolve? Why has it occurred at this time? Above all, what might we be able to do to mitigate its nefarious effects? In other words, how might we together build the forces of social cohesion?” 

The 2024 class is the current iteration of the Corporation’s longstanding support for scholarly research. Established in 2015, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program has supported more than 270 fellows with a total investment of more than $54 million. Richardson, a political scientist, refocused the fellowship program on political polarization as one of her first initiatives after joining the Corporation in January 2023, as part of a larger effort to reduce political polarization through the foundation’s grantmaking.

“I spent much of my career studying terrorists and found that one attribute terrorists invariably share is a highly oversimplified view of the world: seeing the world in binary or black-and-white terms, seeing themselves as the good guys and their enemies as the bad guys,” said Richardson. “Unfortunately, there appears to be an increasing tendency in our politics to adopt an oversimplified, Manichean view of the world.”

Prior to its focus on polarization, Andrew Carnegie Fellows covered a wide range of fields. Congressional testimony by past fellows has addressed topics such as social media and privacy protections, transnational crime, governmental responses to pandemics, and college affordability. Past fellows have been recognized with major honors for their Corporation-supported work, including a Nobel Prize and a National Book Award.

“With this class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows, we will take a deeper step in building a field to address this critically important challenge of polarization,” said John J. DeGioia, chair of the jury that selected the fellows and president of Georgetown University. “Our hope with this project is to draw from the great strengths of the academy, from throughout our country, and deepen our understanding of what we need to focus on to bring us all together.” 

Nominations were received from more than 650 leaders at universities, research institutions, professional societies, think tanks, major university presses, and leading publications. The final selection was made by a distinguished panel of 13 jurors who met for two days of deliberations in April at the Corporation’s headquarters in New York City.

“We have chosen an enormously accomplished group of academics from all across the country, from public to private institutions, quite junior as well as senior academics and from across a range of disciplines,” said Richardson. “We have fellows from the world of computer science, from public health, from history, psychology, political science — all taking different perspectives on this problem.”

“We hope that over time, we will be able to use the ideas that we gain from this work to influence our future grantmaking so that we will be able to support nonprofit organizations around the country who are working together to mitigate the impact of polarization in their communities.”

The fellows will be working to break new ground, from analyzing the largest dataset ever obtained from Meta to understand social media’s true impact on polarization, to developing new methods to help high school students talk out their political differences. Each fellow will receive a stipend of $200,000 to fund their discoveries and allow them to be shared as widely as possible.

“One of the real advantages of using academic research to explore these topics is that we will be able to look for evidence on which we base our decisions," said Richardson. "Many of us make assumptions about the causes and implications of polarization, but how sure are we that we are right? We tend to assume that social media has enormously contributed to polarization. Is this true? How do we know?”

“We’ll also look at the nature of our democracy and whether and how our structures might contribute to polarization. Another widely held assumption is that our society really is polarized, but how true is this? Some of our applicants suggest that maybe it is our politicians who are polarized, while there is far more common ground amongst the population at large. If this is true, what are the implications of this and how might we adjust accordingly? If we understand the nature of the problem we face, we will be able to devise more effective policies to counter it.”

The anticipated result of the fellowship is a book or major study. In this way, the Corporation seeks to generate evidence-based, actionable research that informs decision-making and public policy. Read more about the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program , the work of past honorees , the criteria for proposals, and a historical timeline of scholarly research supported by the Corporation.

Pivotal moments, unsung heroes, and an ongoing struggle for justice and equality

A selection of some of the notable books that have come out of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program since 2015

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• Americans’ Changing Relationship With Local News

3. Sources of local news

Table of contents.

• 1. Attention to local news
• 2. Local news topics
• Americans’ changing local news providers
• How people feel about their local news media’s performance
• Most Americans think local journalists are in touch with their communities
• Interactions with local journalists
• 5. Americans’ views on the financial health of local news
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

The way Americans get local news is changing, both in terms of which devices they’re using and who is delivering the news.

Television is still the most common way people prefer to get their local news, but it is no longer dominant as digital pathways to news continue to rise.

About a third of U.S. adults (32%) say they prefer to get their local news via television, a decline from 41% in 2018. Meanwhile, the share who prefer to get local news from social media has increased, from 15% in 2018 to 23% today. And roughly a quarter of adults (26%) say they prefer to use news websites. Combined, about half of U.S. adults prefer to get news through one of these digital platforms – even if the content they’re getting may be coming from traditional media outlets with an online presence.

Fewer Americans prefer print newspapers and radio for local news (9% each). The share who say they prefer print newspapers has dropped by 4 percentage points in the last six years.

In addition to the technologies being used to access local news, the organizations and specific sources where people are getting local news also are evolving.

The share of Americans who say they often or sometimes get local news and information from daily newspapers has dropped from 43% in 2018 to 33% today – putting newspapers on par with government agencies as a source of local news. About twice as many people say they at least sometimes get news from local TV stations (64%), but this also represents a drop from 70% six years ago. 

The two types of sources that have seen the most substantial growth are primarily digital by nature.

The share of U.S. adults who at least sometimes get news from online forums like Facebook groups increased from 38% in 2018 to 52% in 2024. More people also are getting news from online-only sources that aren’t included in any of the other categories (up from 15% in 2018 to 33% this year).

If respondents said they got news from one of these sources, we asked them to name (in their own words) a specific source they were thinking of as “online-only.” Respondents cited a variety of different types of sources, reflecting the complexity of the ever-changing online information environment.

Some people mentioned local websites and blogs, local news aggregator apps (such as NewsBreak), and specific Facebook groups and Instagram accounts. Others had more general responses such as social media sites more broadly (simply “Facebook”), search engines and online portals (such as Google or MSN), and outlets that cover more national news (e.g., CNN or Breitbart).

Growth in digital access extends to traditional news sources

The impact of digital technology is visible through how people access two more traditional sources of local news: daily newspapers and TV stations.

Many of these outlets now offer news not only in their original format (print and broadcast TV), but through websites and social media feeds as well. For example, among Americans who say they get news from local TV stations, a majority (62%) still say they primarily access it on a television, but 37% say they mainly access that information online – whether from a TV station’s website, app, email newsletter or social media posts.

Among those who get news from local daily newspapers, just 31% access it primarily via their print version. About two-thirds of those who get news from local daily papers (66%) primarily access them online, including 41% who say they use websites or apps and 25% who say they use social media.

How Americans access each of these types of outlets is becoming more digital. In 2018, people were more likely to access both local TV and newspapers via their original analog form: 76% of local TV consumers said they primarily accessed that news on TV, and 54% of daily newspaper users said they mostly used the print format.

Even the way that people get information from friends and family shows signs of change.

A majority of Americans say they often (18%) or sometimes (55%) get local news from other people in their community, such as friends, family or neighbors. In 2018, a slightly smaller share said they got local news this way often (17%) or sometimes (49%).

News from friends, family and neighbors is still most often shared by word of mouth (i.e., in person or on the phone), but it is increasingly likely to be shared on social media. ­Among those who get local news from people in their community, 25% now say that primarily happens on social media, up from 17% in 2018.

Americans’ awareness of the outlets covering their local area

How Americans access their local news first depends on whether they have local outlets available to them – and not everyone does. Others aren’t aware if there are specific types of sources that cover their local area.

We asked Americans whether or not there are newspapers, radio stations, online forums, TV news stations, or newsletters or blogs that cover their local area. For all five types of sources, more than half of Americans say there is at least one of these covering their area, although more say this about newspapers (71%) than other types of sources.

In each case, some respondents say their area doesn’t have a certain type of news outlet. For instance, 20% of respondents say their area doesn’t have a TV station, 14% say there is no radio station and 11% say their area doesn’t have a local newspaper.

In addition, substantial shares say they are not sure whether their area has each type of source, including 30% who aren’t sure if there is an online news forum in their area and 36% who aren’t sure if there is a local newsletter, blog or website.

Some of this availability is connected to where respondents live – especially for local television stations. Americans who live in rural areas are much less likely to say there is a TV station covering their local area – 49% say there is, vs. 64% of those living in suburban areas and 70% of those in urban areas.

About a third of rural Americans (34%) say they do not have a TV station that covers their area, and 16% say they are not sure. By contrast, 17% of those in the suburbs and 10% of those in urban areas say there is no local TV station.

Americans in the suburbs, on the other hand, stand out for being more likely to say there are online forums or discussion groups (such as on Facebook or Nextdoor) in their local area. About seven-in-ten suburban Americans (69%) say there is at least one of these types of groups, compared with 55% of urban and 59% of rural Americans who say the same.

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