Session Overview:
In this session from the 2020 GovComms Festival, we hear from Don Lenihan and Rhonda Moore. Don is the President and CEO of Middle Ground Policy Research and Rhonda is the Practice Lead in Science and Innovation at the Institute on Governance.
Don and Rhonda talk about the concept of public deliberation. What is it, and why should we care about it? Don explains the increasing complexity of public deliberation in the age of technological revolution and information abundance.
Don explains the democratic reform perspective on public deliberation, as well as how both politicians and voters tend to respond it. He discusses the language of democracy, and why it is important to think about the language of democracy.
Don discusses the topic of polarisation, and why public deliberation is a potential solution to the problem of rising polarisation in many democracies throughout the world. According to Don, deliberation is a process of finding a middle ground.
After watching this video, you will be able to:
- Define the concept of public deliberation, as well as the democratic reform perspective on public deliberation.
- Understand how political polarization interacts with public deliberation.
- Recognise the importance of deciding how we talk about and define democracy.
Please note that this is a recording of a live presentation.
