Deliberation is the process by which a group of people, each with equal voice, can – via a process of discussion and debate – reach an agreement. This edited book aims to do two things: rethink the role of deliberation in development and demonstrate that taking deliberation seriously calls for a different approach to both research and policy design. It highlights that much more emphasis on the processes by which decisions are made, rather than an exclusive focus on the outcomes, is necessary to address issues of collective action, coordination and entrenched inequality. It explores the relationship between deliberation and inequality, underscoring the potential of truly empowered deliberation for development and identifying the challenges involved in making it a viable process.
If done right, deliberation has great potential for helping to address diverse and difficult development challenges:
- Addressing important social problems such as FGM that require a collective approach to shifting social norms
- Directing and empowering the voices of the poor and so helping to address the linked challenges of poverty and inequality
- Resolving intrinsically complex coordination problems by bringing diverse interests to the table
- Serving as a community-based monitoring tool
- Supplementing traditional systems of bureaucratic or representative accountability
Deliberation done at scale requires collaboration between induced and organic participation. If the incentives and motives of decision makers at the top are not aligned with the desires and incentives of people at the bottom, any attempt to induce participation is bound to fail. Deliberative governance requires social partners. Hybrid institutions at the interface between the state and civil society can function properly only if given adequate support from the state.
