ABSTRACT
Observing a 'deliberative tum' within the debate about democracy means that diverse conceptions of democracy tend to be appraised in terms of their support or opposition to the notion of deliberative legitimacy - i.e., the notion that participation in genuine deliberation constitutes the core of democratic legitimacy. I It is questionable whether such a 'tum' really took place or if the current debate about deliberation is just another hype to disappear again in the near future. Irrespective of such reflections on the course of theory building, however, some questions raised by the debate are fundamental enough to be here to stay. They can be structured around the impact of deliberation on contemporary theories of democracy (section 2) and around the role discourse theory plays in this context (section 3).
