Beyond institutions and the system: Network approach to deliberative democracy

Abstract

The goal of this article is to advance a novel framework for studying deliberative democracy in real-world contexts. Currently, the theory is gradually moving from an institutional approach rooted in micro-deliberation toward a systemic one focused on macro-democracy. I argue that though this tendency has some unquestionable advantages, both approaches fail to tackle what I call “the problem of embeddedness”. On the one hand, different institutional models of deliberative democracy tend to isolate deliberation from the surrounding context. Therefore, institutions are under-embedded, detached from ongoing processes, which prioritizes action over impact. On the other hand, different systemic accounts of deliberative democracy tend to subject deliberation to the surrounding context. Therefore, institutions are over-embedded, engulfed in the ongoing processes, which privileges the outcome over input. Drawing on the social network theory, I develop a conceptual framework which integrates both approaches into a comprehensive perspective aimed at compensating for the above shortcomings. Focusing on relations and interactions between various nodes, this network approach tries to bridge public deliberation and democratic system. The latter is understood as a relational-pluralist structure in which horizontal and vertical ties are established not only between institutions but also among individual actors and entire networks.