ABSTRACT
Our research requires a normative account of democracy that puts an emphasis on the notion of the public sphere and the discourse by which it is constituted. The most promising theoretical models in this area are represented by the different deliberative approaches to democracy, as they make the public use of reason not only a visible element but the central dimension of the political process. Deliberative democracy is a fast growing field of philosophical inquiry – and increasingly also empirical research – to the extent that already in 2000 Dryzek wrote of a ‘deliberative turn’ in political theory, which broadly follows the linguistic turn of philosophy, and which foregrounds the discursive nature of politics. Regarded as one of the most promising approaches in democratic theory, Dryzek states that ‘[t]he essence of democracy itself is now widely taken to be deliberation, as opposed to voting, interest aggregation, constitutional rights, or even self-government’ (Dryzek, 2000, p. 1).
