This study investigates the potential of a rhetorical theory of knowledge to expand beyond its own domain and into political theory, specifically theories of deliberative democracy. Despite the increasing interest in communication in democratic theory in the last decades, the majority of theorists have not turned their interest towards rhetorical science. On the contrary, theorists often regard rhetoric as dangerous and incompatible with the deliberative ideal of reason. The aim of this study is therefore to defend rhetorical science by investigating how the rhetorical theory of knowledge – as it is presented by Chaïm Perelman and Oldbrecht Tyteca, and further developed by Mats Rosengren and Maria Wolrath Söderberg – can contribute to the understanding of deliberative democracy. The study is in part a comparison between the rhetorical theory of knowledge and the academic debate about the epistemic dimension of deliberation.  The rhetorical view on knowledge provides an argument that supports the deliberative model without the need of a procedure-independent standard to measure the quality of outcomes. By using Maria Wolrath Söderberg’s understanding of topos as knowledge-producing the study shows that the rhetorical emphasis on language can contribute with a new understanding of why the deliberative ideal is preferable to other models of democracy.

The engagement of stakeholders in a dialogue on the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and the retrieval and treatment of nuclear waste in the UK has proved challenging. The action orientated research presented here has used a mixed methodological approach to examine participants’ perceptions regarding the nature of dialogue being carried out by the NDA National Stakeholder Group (NSG), with the emancipatory aim of raising participant awareness regarding their role and the nature of the dialogue used. Exploration of the emergent theme of fairness has enabled the researcher to provide a contribution to stakeholder theory. This research adds to the theory of the deliberative institution (Reed, 2008), providing evidence for why the effective influence of stakeholders on decision making, communication about this influence, and the institutionalization of stakeholder participation is as important as the engagement itself. The work also provides an important epistemological contribution regarding the role of dialogue within the concept of social sustainability.

In this thesis, I outline the normative relevance of religious political parties as carriers of values in the context of contemporary political theory. The central argument of my thesis is that religious political parties are, in ideal terms, vital institutional tools for channelling religious claims into the public political realm of liberal democratic polities, in a way that favours democracy. The reason for my claim is that there is a set of normative criteria that all political parties ought to comply with. These include loyal opposition (i.e. the endorsement of the constitutional and institutional framework in which parties operate), acknowledgement and respect of political pluralism and commitment to pursuing power only through legal means. These normative criteria are grounded in the idea that political parties are “bilingual”, i.e. they occupy a unique position between civil society and public political realm. By complying with these criteria political parties can contribute in channelling and moderating religious and other perfectionist claims in a way that renders them suitable for democratic politics. Furthermore I argue that religious political parties are best incorporated, in ideal terms, by a regime of nonconstitutional pluralism, where no religious faith is officially recognized in the constitution but the political guarantees exist for the expression of religious views in the public political realm through religious political parties. Finally, I examine two specific religious parties, the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi - AKP) in Turkey and the former Christian Democratic Party (Democrazia Cristiana - DC) in Italy, in order to assess to which extent they have complied with the normative criteria of party politics and, therefore, contributed in enhancing democracy in their respective polities.

A presente pesquisa busca analisar a efetividade deliberativa no Conselho Nacional de Política Cultural no que condiz ao seu papel de instituição híbrida que contribui para o fortalecimento democrático no Brasil. O atual Conselho Nacional de Política Cultural (CNPC) iniciou sua trajetória em 2007, como instituição deliberativa, consultiva e normativa com o papel de formular, deliberar e exercer controle público acerca das políticas culturais no Brasil, como órgão vinculado ao Ministério da Cultura. Por apresentar caráter deliberativo em suas ações, a análise da atuação desse Conselho incorpora referências à democracia deliberativa em seu percurso, para compreender melhor o papel de seus integrantes da sociedade civil nos processos deliberativos. O decurso da pesquisa apresenta o processo histórico dos Conselhos Nacionais na história recente do país; também um panorama sobre teoria democrática deliberativa pautada em princípios normativos que subsidia a análise empírica do Conselho Nacional de Políticas Culturais, contando com entrevistas com ex- conselheiros para traçar um perfil crítico que acaba por indicar que a efetividade do conselho é parcial e limitada / This research seeks to analyze the effectiveness of the Deliberative the National Council for Cultural Policy in matches to its role of hybrid institution that contributes to the strengthening of democracy in Brazil. The current National Council for Cultural Policy (CNPC) started in 2007 as a deliberative institution, advisory and rules with the role of formulating, deliberate and exercise public control about cultural policies in Brazil, as an agency of the Ministry of Culture. By presenting deliberative in their actions, the analysis of the performance of this Council incorporates references to deliberative democracy on its way to better understand the role of its members of civil society in decision-making processes. The research course presents the historical process of the National Councils in the recent history of the country; also an overview of deliberative democratic theory guided by normative principles that supports the empirical analysis of the National Council of Cultural Policies, provided interviews indicate that the effectiveness of the board is partial and limited

A estratégia organizacional tem sido um importante campo de pesquisa, com destaque para o tema da elaboração das estratégias. Para compreender tal processo, é preciso levar em consideração as forças que influenciam essa construção. O conceito de formação das estratégias indica a interação entre o processo deliberado e formal de planejamento estratégico e o conjunto de influências (cognitivas, culturais e políticas, ambientais, entre outras) que condicionam tanto o processo de elaboração das estratégias quanto a sua eventual execução. A presente pesquisa enfoca o processo formal de elaboração de estratégias, em organizações nas quais este é claramente definido; e exclui expressamente a questão da execução. O autor entende que, nas organizações pesquisadas: (a) o conceito de formação de estratégias se aplica à etapa de planejamento formal, ampliando a ideia de formulação de estratégias; (b) o conceito de estratégias emergentes se manifestaria apenas na etapa de execução, portanto, encontra-se além do escopo do presente estudo. Este estudo parte do modelo descritivo de formação de estratégias, desenvolvido por Barbero (2008) a partir da sua pesquisa em empresas industriais no estado de São Paulo. Tal modelo traz dez elementos, que estabelecem cinco dimensões de análise do processo de formação de estratégias organizacionais. Na presente pesquisa, o instrumento de pesquisa desenvolvido e utilizado por Barbero (2008) é adaptado a uma abordagem qualitativa, com ênfase aos executivos envolvidos no processo de elaboração de estratégias de organizações que apresentam processos formalizados de planejamento estratégico. Esta pesquisa se justifica pela importância da aplicação do modelo conceitual de Barbero (2008), em outro contexto organizacional específico, e por adotar uma abordagem qualitativa. Espera-se, assim, contribuir para a compreensão da elaboração de estratégias organizacionais, em especial no que tange ao papel da deliberação, vista em confronto com as forças que exercem influências sobre tal processo. O resultado mostra que nas organizações estudadas, no momento formal de formação de estratégias suas características marcantes são desenvolvidas de forma visionária, discricionária, política, racional e deliberada. A política e a intuição se apresentam como potência e moldam o processo de múltiplas formas e consequências, permanecendo em aberto a antiga questão de como são efetivamente formadas as estratégias organizacionais, as quais, aparentemente, dependem das particularidades de cada organização e seu ambiente de atuação. / The organizational strategy has been an important field of research, especially on the area of strategy formulation. In order to understand such a process, one must take into account the forces that influence this construction. The strategy formation concept indicates the interaction between the deliberate and formal process of strategic planning and a set of influences (cognitive, cultural and political, environmental, among others). They condition both the strategy elaboration process and its eventual execution. The present research focuses on the formal strategic development process in organizations in which the process is clearly defined and expressly excludes the issue of enforcement and implementation. The author understands that at the organizations researched: (a) the concept of strategy formation applies to the formal planning stage, broadening the idea of strategy formulation; (B) the concept of emergent strategies would manifest itself only in the execution stage, therefore, it is beyond the scope of the present study. This study is based on the descriptive model of strategy formation developed by Barbero (2008) and on his research which is applied to industrial companies in the state of São Paulo. This model brings ten elements establishing five dimensions of analysis of the process of forming organizational strategies. In the present research, the research tool developed and used by Barbero (2008) is adapted to a qualitative approach with an emphasis on the executives involved in the strategy elaboration process of organizations that present formalized processes of strategic planning. This research is justified by the importance of applying the conceptual model of Barbero (2008) in another specific organizational context and by adopting a qualitative approach. Therefore, it is expected to contribute to the understanding of the elaboration of organizational strategies, especially regarding the role of deliberation, analysed in comparison with the forces exerting influence on this process. The result shows that in the organizations studied, in the formal moment of strategy formation, its defining characteristics are developed in a visionary, discretionary, political, rational and deliberate way. Politics and intuition are presented as powerful and shape the process in multiple forms and consequences. The question of how are effectively formed the organizational strategies still remains open and apparently depends on the particularities of each organization and its operating environment .

This thesis is a critique and proposed reform of the decision-making process under the European Patent Convention 1973, Article 53(a) as it relates to morality. It postulates that the manner in which the morality bar is currently managed is inappropriate as it relies on patent officials to make the initial decision as to whether the patent application is morally permissible or not. In a pluralistic world, morality is understood differently by a wide variety of people but this is not currently being acknowledged within the patent system. Whilst there is an option to bring opposition proceedings to challenge patent grants, this onus is considerable on the challenger and any debate is then played out by a very small sector of highly specialised experts, often with very differing views on morality. This thesis seeks to broaden the decision-making process to reflect society's pluralism. Officials, it will be argued, should instead of trying to decide what constitutes morality in a realm of such importance for humanity as a whole, administer a system which facilitates public participation and a vote. This will be based on existing models of widespread public deliberation and participation, albeit not ones that currently operate in (or near) the patent world. At present, criticisms in the legal literature tend to suggest more deliberation in the patent field and more participation is recommended in science literature but the logistics are unexplored and will be brought together in this work, making an original contribution to knowledge. In order to achieve its aim, the thesis employs a pluralistic methodology which includes doctrinal, socio-legal and interdisciplinary facets which will enable the construction of a model for reform of the patent system in the domain of morality. This will come from outside of traditional legal mechanisms such as legislative, judicial or patent office reform solutions, as a far-reaching paradigm is envisaged. The claim to originality lies in the extraction of principles from deliberative and participatory models of democracy and their application to the decision-making process in morally controversial biotechnological patents.

A presente pesquisa busca analisar a efetividade deliberativa no Conselho Nacional de Política Cultural no que condiz ao seu papel de instituição híbrida que contribui para o fortalecimento democrático no Brasil. O atual Conselho Nacional de Política Cultural (CNPC) iniciou sua trajetória em 2007, como instituição deliberativa, consultiva e normativa com o papel de formular, deliberar e exercer controle público acerca das políticas culturais no Brasil, como órgão vinculado ao Ministério da Cultura. Por apresentar caráter deliberativo em suas ações, a análise da atuação desse Conselho incorpora referências à democracia deliberativa em seu percurso, para compreender melhor o papel de seus integrantes da sociedade civil nos processos deliberativos. O decurso da pesquisa apresenta o processo histórico dos Conselhos Nacionais na história recente do país; também um panorama sobre teoria democrática deliberativa pautada em princípios normativos que subsidia a análise empírica do Conselho Nacional de Políticas Culturais, contando com entrevistas com ex- conselheiros para traçar um perfil crítico que acaba por indicar que a efetividade do conselho é parcial e limitada / This research seeks to analyze the effectiveness of the Deliberative the National Council for Cultural Policy in matches to its role of hybrid institution that contributes to the strengthening of democracy in Brazil. The current National Council for Cultural Policy (CNPC) started in 2007 as a deliberative institution, advisory and rules with the role of formulating, deliberate and exercise public control about cultural policies in Brazil, as an agency of the Ministry of Culture. By presenting deliberative in their actions, the analysis of the performance of this Council incorporates references to deliberative democracy on its way to better understand the role of its members of civil society in decision-making processes. The research course presents the historical process of the National Councils in the recent history of the country; also an overview of deliberative democratic theory guided by normative principles that supports the empirical analysis of the National Council of Cultural Policies, provided interviews indicate that the effectiveness of the board is partial and limited

Democratic theorists have influentially argued that inclusive deliberation, where citizens voice their concerns and exchange justifications, is crucial to democracy. However, this deliberative ideal has come under sustained attack for being excessively utopian. As a result, to make this ideal more relevant and action-guiding, the present thesis investigates what norms should govern deliberation in political settings marked by severe social divisions. After motivating this project (Chapter 1), I defend the following account of deliberation. Although the requirement that deliberators appeal to shared reasons is morally attractive, even the weakest variant of this norm risks excluding too many considerations from the public deliberation of divided societies. To offset these exclusionary tendencies, I argue that public deliberation should give a greater role to emotionally-charged forms of speech, such as narrative (Chapter 2). Now, this last suggestion might seem overly inclusive, by opening the door for intensely angry narratives and for narratives expressing degrading or disrespectful views. In response to this 'overinclusiveness' concern, I argue 1) that degrading or disrespectful public speech is best countered through state-backed counterspeech, rather than through coercive legal norms that forcibly eliminate it from public discourse (Chapter 3) and 2) that narratives expressing anger in fact have a crucial epistemic role to play in divided societies, by enhancing our understanding of persisting injustices (Chapter 4). The final two chapters address a pressing worry: that the deliberative norms I advance demand too much of actual citizens. One might think that if citizens distrust each other and are highly ignorant about politics, they will be unable to deliberate fruitfully. But these problems are not decisive against my account. Chapter 5 investigates how the kind of public dialogue I defend offers important resources for rebuilding trust and goodwill in divided societies. As for political ignorance, Chapter 6 demonstrates that it is equally problematic for other political systems, democratic and non-democratic. Since this ignorance threatens all accounts, the solution is not to abandon inclusive deliberation, but rather to tackle political ignorance itself.

Although online social media have achieved spectacular success in some instances, the design of such systems remains an art. In some specialized areas, such as online deliberation systems for participatory democracy, experiences from many projects have been reported in the research literature. Designers can benefit from knowledge accumulated from these experiences. However, the knowledge is dispersed and not organized for ready access by practicing professionals. This thesis proposes a framework for structuring and codifying design knowledge from published studies to help designers make design choices that will attain design objectives.

Although online social media have achieved spectacular success in some instances, the design of such systems remains an art. In some specialized areas, such as online deliberation systems for participatory democracy, experiences from many projects have been reported in the research literature. Designers can benefit from knowledge accumulated from these experiences. However, the knowledge is dispersed and not organized for ready access by practicing professionals. This thesis proposes a framework for structuring and codifying design knowledge from published studies to help designers make design choices that will attain design objectives.