This thesis examines the quality and effectiveness of online political deliberation, within the framework of Jurgen Habermas’ public sphere and discourse theories. The thesis analyzes a deliberative process that took place online, in June 2011, as part of the Liberal Party of Canada’s Extraordinary Convention, specifically through content and discourse analysis of data from online discussion platforms. The analysis sought to ascertain whether the objectives of the convention were met, measured the quality of discourse and identified insights to support the creation of more effective spaces for political deliberation online. Analysis of the results revealed a difference in the discourse quality for each platform, attributed to the synchronicity or asynchronicity of the platform. The thesis concludes with suggestions for a design that makes use of both the synchronous and asynchronous features of the online discussion platforms in order to more specifically target the objectives of the political process.

Greater public participation has been recognized in the socio-political sphere as a growing imperative and a recent phenomenon is a shift in governance towards the "politics of inclusion" at the local and in some cases, the provincial level. Democracy is fundamental to sustainable development because when people participate in the decisions that affect their lives, they are more committed to their implementation. Once community buy-in is garnered, people are empowered to engage in organized action and advocate for the causes they stand for which can affect the necessary changes in moving towards a sustainable community. Our Street London is a grassroots collective that supports alternatives to mainstream modalities of transportation such as biking, walking, and public transportation, as well sustainable urban form. My objective is to understand the richness and detail of the social constructions of the actors in the lived environment. My research explores successful community engagement strategies and how the knowledge generated through the inquiry process can benefit Our Street London members to mobilize group capacity, hence affecting the future directions of the group. My main method of data collection consisted of semi-structured, open-ended interviews with experts on community engagement. Participants consisted of academics, long-time practitioners, and employees of small to medium-sized sustainability/environmental and social justice organizations. This research does have an action-oriented intent to work with Our Street London beyond the scope of this project in translating recommendations into action.

According to the Swedish curriculum the education should establish respect for human rights and democratic values (Skolverket, 2011, s.7). The purpose of this study is to investigate how five first grade teachers understand the democracy education and how they practice it in reality. I have, based on the purpose of this study issued following questions: What is the teachers interpretation of the democracy education?  How does the teachers work with democracy in practice? What difficulties does the teachers see with the democracy education? This study is made through a qualitative method based on interviews with five teachers. The results show that the teachers at both schools, despite the different definitions of the concept of democracy, yet interprets democracy education relatively equal. All of the teachers perceive the democracy education as an assignment where the focus is on student participation, responsibility and opinions as well as human rights. In practice the work with the democracy education is done through activities such as class councils and voting. The teachers also emphasizes discussions as an important part of the democracy education which can be linked to deliberative democracy. The difficulties that teachers see with the democracy education concerns being neutral to certain values. One conclusion from this study is that teachers work with democracy education mostly on the basis of learning for and learning through democracy.

This thesis explores the tensions between constitutional forms of democracy and the practice-based understanding of democracy found among ancient Greek and recent post-structural theorists. In drawing from Plato’s discussion of the constitutions of varying political regimes, this thesis hones in on his assertion that the democratic city does not have a single constitution due to the freedom of its citizens. Contemporary understandings of democracy, such as deliberative democratic theory, have largely overlooked the kind of power embodied in democracy by focusing attention on deepening the forms of participation in existing practices of government. By drawing from a practice-based understanding of democracy, this thesis responds to the problems of exclusion produced by statist accounts of democracy. Taking the example of First Nations in Canada, the thesis asks whether new forms of protest, such as Idle No More, embody the spirit of democratic practice outlined by the ancient Greeks. / Graduate

Questions of uncertainty and value conflict are increasingly pervasive challenges confronting policy makers seeking to address the range of environmental problems generated by contemporary technological systems. Yet these questions are ultimately political and moral in nature, and require a framework of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) that is marked by informed and democratic civic governance. Reflecting this, the original, civic purposes of environmental assessment (EA) embraced science and public participation as interdependent elements in the creation of more sustaining forms of human-nature interaction. However, formal models of EA have forsaken meaningful democratic engagement to technique. Based on the instrumentalist assumption that better science automatically leads to better policy, EA has externalised the civic source of political energy that underpins its environmental expertise. Moreover, debates become polarised when science is uncritically imported into the adversarial forums of interest-based politics,so that environmental science is increasingly unable to support political action. I shall argue that the revolutionary potential of SEA to transform the policy process rests upon a recovery of its original, civic purposes. My thesis is that a deeper understanding of the relationship between scientific knowledge and political action is required if SEA is to be rigorous, and also relevant to public concerns. Philosophical pragmatism contributes epistemological resources vital to this task. By situating knowledge in the context of practice, and by recognising the dialogical, judgmental nature of rationality, the practical philosophy of pragmatism reclaims the contextually embedded nature of inquiry. When science is embedded in a wider ethical context, the meaning and purposes of environmental knowledge become central questions of policy. The procedural ethics of both liberal and Habermasian politics cannot address these questions, however, because they relegate questions of the public good to the realm of individual choice. Instead, I argue that public dialogue, guided by a praxisoriented virtue ethics, is required to recover objective environmental goods in the policy process. I also argue that Aristotlean rhetoric, with its focus on the credibility of expertise, is the mode of persuasive argument most appropriate for dialogical public forums. The public philosophy of civic environmental pragmatism is therefore presented as a richer theoretical framework for understanding the contribution of both experts and citizens in the development of environmental knowledge for policy. As a dialogical framework for SEA, civic environmental pragmatism constructively combines the critical/normative and instrumental/descriptive aspects of policy inquiry, both of which are required in the development of socially robust knowledge and politically feasible policy decisions.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, August, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

O presente trabalho versa sobre as audiências públicas do plano diretor participativo (PDP), entendido como instrumento de efetividade da gestão democrática e de exercício do direito à cidade. O objetivo é compreender as potencialidades e as limitações dos dispositivos legais que regem o PDP no que concerne ao papel da coletividade nas audiências públicas, tendo em conta as distorções observadas na prática deste instrumento participativo. Para cumprir o objetivo proposto, foram adotados três procedimentos metodológicos. Primeiramente, interpretar o regime legal das audiências a partir dos conceitos operacionais fornecidos pelo marco teórico adotado, sobretudo: o direito à cidade, a democracia participativa e as propriedades especiais constitucionais. Em segundo lugar, a partir de um método de interpretação sistêmico, investigar as normas aplicáveis às audiências públicas do PDP no contexto das inovações trazidas pela Constituição de 1988, dos tratados internacionais e da legislação infraconstitucional que trata da participação popular para gestão do meio ambiente natural e urbano. Em terceiro lugar, a partir dos relatos obtidos nos bancos de experiências do Ministério das Cidades, avaliar como a norma foi compreendida e aplicada em concreto em 11 cidades da Região Sul do Brasil, de modo a visualizar quais as principais distorções e inconsistências na relação entre os partícipes do processo e a norma. Embora o caráter participativo das audiências públicas represente uma importante conquista histórica, é possível concluir que este instrumento ainda carece de densidade normativa. A falta de abrangência normativa sobre o propósito da audiência e de diretrizes para sua condução facilita distorções e tende a reduzir sua legitimidade política. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2015-07-15T18:20:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Karine Grassi Malinverni da Silveira.pdf: 1754615 bytes, checksum: 6967f987e79d210028a31f2eaafc5d35 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-15T18:20:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Karine Grassi Malinverni da Silveira.pdf: 1754615 bytes, checksum: 6967f987e79d210028a31f2eaafc5d35 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / El presente trabajo se ocupa de las audiencias públicas del plan maestro participativo (PDP), entendida como un instrumento de gestión democrática y la eficacia del ejercicio del derecho a la ciudad. El objetivo es entender el potencial y las limitaciones de las disposiciones legales que rigen el PDP en relación con el papel de las audiencias públicas colectivas, teniendo en cuenta las distorsiones observadas en la práctica de este instrumento participativo. Para cumplir el objetivo propuesto, fueron adoptados tres procedimientos metodológicos. En primer lugar, interpretar el régimen jurídico de las audiencias públicas desde los conceptos operacionales proporcionados por el marco teórico adoptado, en particular: el derecho a la ciudad, democracia participativa y las constitucionales propiedades especiales. Em segundo lugar, de un método de interpretación sistémica, las normas aplicables a las audiencias públicas del PDP en el contexto de las innovaciones traídas por la Constitución de 1988, los tratados internacionales y la legislación que se ocupa de investigar la participación popular para la gestión del medio ambiente natural y urbano. En tercer lugar, desde los informes obtenidos en los experimentos del Ministerio de las ciudades, evaluar cómo la ley ha sido entendida y aplicada en concreto en 11 ciudades del sur de Brasil, con el fin de mostrar cuáles son las principales distorsiones y contradicciones en la relación entre los participantes del proceso y la norma. Aunque el carácter participativo de las audiencias públicas represente un importante logro histórico, se puede observar una falta de densidad normativa. La falta de densidad normativa sobre el propósito de la audiencia y acerca de las directrices de conducción facilita las distorsiones y tiende a reducir su legitimidad política.

O presente trabalho versa sobre as audiências públicas do plano diretor participativo (PDP), entendido como instrumento de efetividade da gestão democrática e de exercício do direito à cidade. O objetivo é compreender as potencialidades e as limitações dos dispositivos legais que regem o PDP no que concerne ao papel da coletividade nas audiências públicas, tendo em conta as distorções observadas na prática deste instrumento participativo. Para cumprir o objetivo proposto, foram adotados três procedimentos metodológicos. Primeiramente, interpretar o regime legal das audiências a partir dos conceitos operacionais fornecidos pelo marco teórico adotado, sobretudo: o direito à cidade, a democracia participativa e as propriedades especiais constitucionais. Em segundo lugar, a partir de um método de interpretação sistêmico, investigar as normas aplicáveis às audiências públicas do PDP no contexto das inovações trazidas pela Constituição de 1988, dos tratados internacionais e da legislação infraconstitucional que trata da participação popular para gestão do meio ambiente natural e urbano. Em terceiro lugar, a partir dos relatos obtidos nos bancos de experiências do Ministério das Cidades, avaliar como a norma foi compreendida e aplicada em concreto em 11 cidades da Região Sul do Brasil, de modo a visualizar quais as principais distorções e inconsistências na relação entre os partícipes do processo e a norma. Embora o caráter participativo das audiências públicas represente uma importante conquista histórica, é possível concluir que este instrumento ainda carece de densidade normativa. A falta de abrangência normativa sobre o propósito da audiência e de diretrizes para sua condução facilita distorções e tende a reduzir sua legitimidade política. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / El presente trabajo se ocupa de las audiencias públicas del plan maestro participativo (PDP), entendida como un instrumento de gestión democrática y la eficacia del ejercicio del derecho a la ciudad. El objetivo es entender el potencial y las limitaciones de las disposiciones legales que rigen el PDP en relación con el papel de las audiencias públicas colectivas, teniendo en cuenta las distorsiones observadas en la práctica de este instrumento participativo. Para cumplir el objetivo propuesto, fueron adoptados tres procedimientos metodológicos. En primer lugar, interpretar el régimen jurídico de las audiencias públicas desde los conceptos operacionales proporcionados por el marco teórico adoptado, en particular: el derecho a la ciudad, democracia participativa y las constitucionales propiedades especiales. Em segundo lugar, de un método de interpretación sistémica, las normas aplicables a las audiencias públicas del PDP en el contexto de las innovaciones traídas por la Constitución de 1988, los tratados internacionales y la legislación que se ocupa de investigar la participación popular para la gestión del medio ambiente natural y urbano. En tercer lugar, desde los informes obtenidos en los experimentos del Ministerio de las ciudades, evaluar cómo la ley ha sido entendida y aplicada en concreto en 11 ciudades del sur de Brasil, con el fin de mostrar cuáles son las principales distorsiones y contradicciones en la relación entre los participantes del proceso y la norma. Aunque el carácter participativo de las audiencias públicas represente un importante logro histórico, se puede observar una falta de densidad normativa. La falta de densidad normativa sobre el propósito de la audiencia y acerca de las directrices de conducción facilita las distorsiones y tiende a reducir su legitimidad política.

I denna vetenskapligaessä undersöker jag hur förskolan arbetar med deliberativ demokrati, dvs i vilken utsträckning barnen har möjlighet att diskutera och debattera frågor för att sedan kunna påverka gemensamma beslut på ett inkluderande sätt. Jag har främst fokus på de barn med begränsat eller obefintligt talspråk, där jag ställer mig frågande till om deliberativ demokratiform är möjlig. I essän beskriver jag två olika händelser från mitt yrkesliv där barn är frusterade av olika anledningar och hur jag som förskollärare bemöter dem och hanterar situationerna. Jag har också gjort en deltagande observation på en förskola som jag besökt, som gav mig mycket stoff och tankar i min text, där jag fick ställa mig lite utanför situationer och observera dessa istället för att själv vara aktiv. John Deweys och Jürgen Habermas idéer om kommunikation och lärandet i samspel lyfter jag för att få en inblick i deliberativ demokrati. Under studiens gång har språkets betydelse, makt och tolkning, förskolans förutsättningar och praktisk kunskap blivit de centrala delarna. Jag reflekterar kring mina erfarenheter, observationer och de valda teoretiska perspektiven. Det har givit mig många infallsvinklar och tankar under resan. Jag har blivit mer medveten om hur dominerande det individualistiska tänkandet är inom förskolan och att vi tappar den gemensamma tanken och känslan för varandra. Begreppen "motstånd" och "obemärkt styrning", som förskoleforskaren Klara Dolk använder sig av, har gjort ett starkt avtryck hos mig och understryker vilken kraft och tolkningsföreträde vi pedagoger har. Vidare öppnar jag upp för reflektion om utbildningen ska ha samma styrdokument från ett års ålder till sex år, eller om den måste förtydligas och anpassas till olika utvecklingsnivåer. En förskola för alla, men där alla kan bli sitt bästa jag i relation till andra.

Widespread concern over recent changes in American civic life has spawned arguments in a range of disciplines about the importance of social capital, citizen civic capacity and deliberative democratic engagement in supporting the development of engaged citizens, as well as supporting a democracy that is effective, publicly-minded and accountable. This study contributes to this literature by empirically investigating the potential for a specific type of place-based community development called "cohousing" to enhance the quantity and quality of resident civic engagement. Cohousing neighborhoods marry elements of social contact design with democratic self-governance and intentional social practices designed to build trust and cohesion among neighbors. In addition to investigating civic engagement in cohousing, this study investigates the degree to which U.S. cohousing neighborhoods build social capital, develop residents' democratic capacities and provide a platform for deliberative democratic practice. The results of the study indicate extraordinarily high levels of civic engagement by U.S. cohousing residents as compared to both the general population and to individuals with similar educational, income and racial characteristics. A multiple-case analysis of three neighborhoods, selected for positive deviance in civic engagement levels, were found to possess high levels of trust, social cohesion and norms of reciprocity. Case community residents were also found to be developing a range of democratic capacities, individually and collectively, particularly through engagement in community self-governance via structures of distributed leadership and the use of consensus-based, community decision-making processes. This study suggests that self-governing, communities of place, such as cohousing neighborhoods may represent a promising new avenue for enhanced citizen-engagement at the grassroots-community level. These neighborhoods also represent an excellent arena for future investigation into conditions, necessary and sufficient, to catalyze increased democratic capacity and civic engagement on the part of citizens. / Ph. D.