The conflict on Serra do Gandarela: A deliberative systems analysis

Abstract

The controversy surrounding the supposed incompatibility between deliberative democracy and conflict has been mobilized to deny the potentialities of this theoretical field. To reinforce the inexistence of this dichotomy, we begin from the reconstitution of a political process and seek to understand how conflict contributes to deliberation emergence and, at the same time, how deliberation and reflexivity are capable of triggering this conflict. Our analysis focuses on the environmental conflict involving the definition of the future of Serra do Gandarela, the focus of diverse interests by mining groups, the social movement, and the local population. We reconstructed the dispute process concerning the future of Gandarela from interviews with the involved actors, bearing its different moments in mind. We point out how the conflict manifests itself in this context and how it contributes to the emergence of public debate, to the reflexivity of those involved and, to some extent, in decision-making regarding the controversy. We also point out the key role played by civil society in the discursive binding of the process, while also highlighting justice system actor actions as possible deliberative system connectors.