ABSTRACT
This chapter examines six distinctive features of deliberative participation that distinguish it from more traditional forms of engagement: inclusion, information, dialogue, deliberation, consensus, and empowerment. It proceeds to answer the question of what can be the added value for society generated by deliberative processes, focusing in particular on its capability to contribute to better decision-making and to social capital regeneration. The chapter addresses critical issue: whether deliberative participation should be institutionalised and how that might be done. Though the chapter focuses on the polity, similar considerations can apply to the public and collective sphere, including the varied forms of aggregations of society, that could use this approach in their internal decision-making. Deliberative participation constitutes a "deeper" form of involvement, much more promising and relevant as compared to traditional forms of participation. Deliberative participation aims at deepening and strengthening democracy, a positive normative value that many cherish.
