ABSTRACT
In a chapter on deliberative democratic theory written for the Annual Review of Political Science, Chambers (2003) wrote that “deliberative democratic theory has moved beyond the ‘theoretical statement’ stage and into the ‘working theory’ stage.” If that was true in 2003, it is even truer now. The authors of this chapter have focused their research on how deliberative democracy works in practice; specifically, each of us has asked whether the ideals of democratic theory are realized in group settings that are designed for deliberation. What motivates us is a sense that group discourse about important public issues, whether public policy topics or jury decision-making in trials, constitutes an important component of democracy. As empirical researchers, however, we, like many others interested in this subject, continue to ask if, how, and why democracy is enhanced by actual deliberative discussion.
