Political Parties and Deliberative Democracy in Europe

“Parties get a bad rap these days. Scholars of electoral democracy paint a dystopian picture of parties in decline and with them democracy itself. Those working in the emergent field of democratic innovations paint a more hopeful picture of innovating citizen-centred democracies, but their utopian image largely by-passes parties altogether. This book offers a vitally important corrective. For Sergiu Gherghina and his colleagues ‘deliberative democracy has entered the repertoire of political parties, both in rhetoric and in practice’. This fascinating study provides important insights into the role parties have played in driving democratic innovations in a number of European countries, and also in introducing similar reforms to their own internal operations.” David Farrell, University College Dublin, Ireland “The academic study of political parties and democratic innovations are too often separate endeavours. But in practice these institutions intersect in both democratically constructive and damaging ways. By bringing these two areas of study into conversation, this collection represents a significant contribution to better understanding the varying dynamics between political parties and deliberative processes. This is an important research agenda for those interested in reinvigorating democracy.” Graham Smith, Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster, UK “The gap between citizens and political parties is increasing – but parties are essential in existing democracies. Can deliberation narrow the gap? This book provides instructive insights on whether and how deliberation can help to reform parties and to enhance parties’ relationship with the broader public. Parties need deliberative practices and deliberative practices need parties – these key findings of the book are crucial for advancing the future of democracy.” Brigitte Geissel, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany “In Europe, political parties and deliberative democracy have developed a peculiar relationship that some could define as schizophrenic: they are mutually dependent yet simultaneously repellent. The contributors to Political Parties and Deliberative Democracy in Europe explore the complexities of this convenient relationship, as the editor highlights, and in particular the paradoxes at the heart of this relationship.” Min Reuchamps, UCLouvain, Belgium “So far, there are only few studies on the relationship between parties and deliberative and participatory practices. This ground-breaking volume fills this gap, bringing together these two strands of scholarship. It offers systematic analyses on parties’ positions towards deliberative and participatory innovations and, perhaps surprisingly, does not find systematic differences between parties belonging to different ideological families. The book concludes that while partisan politics and practices fostering citizen participation and deliberation are functionally different, they have mutually complementary roles in democratic systems.” Maija Setälä, University of Turku, Finland