Advancing the work of deliberative democracy

by Bruce Mallory

July 14, 2009 | The Democracy Imperative's "No Better Time" conference | Durham, N.H.

Bruce Mallory, professor of education at the University of New Hampshire and board member of The Paul J. Aicher Foundation.

"Many of our conversations at this meeting are focused on the context of the deliberative democracy movement.  The conference title captures our sense that we are in the midst of a convergence of political, social, and economic forces that both require and facilitate greater citizen engagement in local and national governance.  And there is a growing recognition that democratic governance is much more encompassing than that which occurs in formal electoral bodies and regulatory agencies.  Democratic governance also means local citizen action focused on matters that are not amenable to policy writing or rule making.  As we know from the experience of organizations like Everyday Democracy, participation in democratic processes also can change the ways that people interact with each other at the street level.  Sustained, facilitated dialogue can alter human relationships, create a sense of self-determination and hope in neglected communities, help young people acquire democratic habits of heart and mind, and shape the destiny of neighborhoods and municipalities. 

"So we know that sustained, deliberative practices work, and we know that there is a growing interest in such practices to address complex social problems and to increase citizen participation in governance.  But I believe that what we don’t know yet is whether this will all stick.  Historically, our society has been fickle.  We seem to have a national case of attention deficit disorder, in which our interests, our inclinations, our commitments easily shift from one event to the next, from crisis to crisis, from Iran to Michael Jackson, from Katrina to Kabul.  We are heartened that the last national election drew such high levels of voter participation, especially among younger citizens, but we have no notion of whether that will continue.  Our public schools are still failing urban youth, our health care system is still not accessible to tens of millions of Americans, and our elected leaders too often succumb to the corrupting temptations of power and privilege. 

"My question, then, is whether we can claim that this is truly a movement, a term we typically reserve for massive, sustained, paradigm-shifting events such as the civil rights movement or the anti-globalization movement.   To put this question into context, I will draw on the framework developed by Paul Hawken in his 2007 book titled Blessed Unrest:  How the Largest Social Movement in History is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World.  Hawken’s book focuses on the convergence of small, disparate efforts around the globe aimed at enhancing human rights, social and economic justice, and environmental sustainability.  He catalogues tens of thousands of NGO’s, ad hoc community-based efforts, and government-sponsored initiatives that have historically operated separately around these topics and suggests that their potential convergence is creating the largest social movement in history.  I think that his arguments are useful for thinking about where the movement for a more deliberative democracy is headed. 

"In describing the movement toward environmental justice, Hawken raises questions that are pertinent for us.  He notes that, 'This movement . . . doesn’t fit the standard model.  It is dispersed, inchoate, and fiercely independent.  It has no manifesto or doctrine, no overriding authority to check with.  It is taking shape in schoolrooms, farms, jungles, villages, companies, deserts, fisheries, slums—and yes, even fancy New York hotels.  One of its distinctive features is that it is tentatively emerging as a global humanitarian movement arising from the bottom up.  . . .  Rather than a movement in the conventional sense, could it be an instinctive, collective response to threat?  Is it atomized for reasons that are innate to its purpose?  How does it function?  How fast is it growing?  How is it connected?  Why is it largely ignored?  Does it have a history?  Can it successfully address the issues that governments are failing to: energy, jobs, conservation, poverty, and global warming?  Will it become centralized, or will it continue to be dispersed and cede its power to ideologies and fundamentalism?'"

Read the rest of Mallory's speech on the wiki section of The Democracy Imperative's "No Better Time" conference website.

Reprinted with permission from the Democracy Imperative at the University of New Hampshire, a national network of scholars, academic leaders, and practitioners dedicated to strengthening public life and advancing deliberative democracy in and through higher education. Learn more at http://www.unh.edu/academicaffairs/democracy