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Reflective Inclusion : Learning from Activists What Taking a Deliberative Stance Means

Felicetti, Andrea and Holdo, Markus LU orcid (2024) In Political Studies 72(2). p.823-841
Abstract

Researchers are increasingly recognizing that social movements are crucial for realizing deliberative democratic values. However, this raises two important questions: (1) what actions should count as deliberation and (2) whether we should demand more from activists than merely provoking or encouraging deliberation in a society. Building on current research on activists’ actual engagement with deliberation, we argue that the standard of taking a “deliberative stance” (being respectful, sincere, and public-minded) is a good starting point for addressing both questions. By taking a deliberative stance, movements benefit from deliberation themselves and contribute to deliberative systems. However, we should also acknowledge that forms of... (More)

Researchers are increasingly recognizing that social movements are crucial for realizing deliberative democratic values. However, this raises two important questions: (1) what actions should count as deliberation and (2) whether we should demand more from activists than merely provoking or encouraging deliberation in a society. Building on current research on activists’ actual engagement with deliberation, we argue that the standard of taking a “deliberative stance” (being respectful, sincere, and public-minded) is a good starting point for addressing both questions. By taking a deliberative stance, movements benefit from deliberation themselves and contribute to deliberative systems. However, we should also acknowledge that forms of deliberation change, and discovering new forms is a crucial part of what movements do for democracy. We propose to adopt a principle we call “reflective inclusion,” which allows us to engage abductively with new actions that might expand and deepen our understanding of what deliberation may look like.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
activism, deliberation, democracy, participation, social movements
in
Political Studies
volume
72
issue
2
pages
19 pages
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85147652709
ISSN
0032-3217
DOI
10.1177/00323217221150867
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0ea4681e-b82a-4031-b5ea-1115170df46e
date added to LUP
2023-02-21 11:46:20
date last changed
2025-06-03 14:01:20
@article{0ea4681e-b82a-4031-b5ea-1115170df46e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Researchers are increasingly recognizing that social movements are crucial for realizing deliberative democratic values. However, this raises two important questions: (1) what actions should count as deliberation and (2) whether we should demand more from activists than merely provoking or encouraging deliberation in a society. Building on current research on activists’ actual engagement with deliberation, we argue that the standard of taking a “deliberative stance” (being respectful, sincere, and public-minded) is a good starting point for addressing both questions. By taking a deliberative stance, movements benefit from deliberation themselves and contribute to deliberative systems. However, we should also acknowledge that forms of deliberation change, and discovering new forms is a crucial part of what movements do for democracy. We propose to adopt a principle we call “reflective inclusion,” which allows us to engage abductively with new actions that might expand and deepen our understanding of what deliberation may look like.</p>}},
  author       = {{Felicetti, Andrea and Holdo, Markus}},
  issn         = {{0032-3217}},
  keywords     = {{activism; deliberation; democracy; participation; social movements}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{823--841}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Political Studies}},
  title        = {{Reflective Inclusion : Learning from Activists What Taking a Deliberative Stance Means}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217221150867}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/00323217221150867}},
  volume       = {{72}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}