It is sometimes assumed that voting is the central mechanism for political decision-making. The contributors to this volume focus on an alternative mechanism, that is decision by discussion or deliberation. The original contributions include case studies based on historical and current instances of deliberative democracy, normative discussion of the merits of deliberation compared to other models of collective decision-making, and studies of the conditions under which it tends to improve the quality of decisions. This volume is characterized by a realistic approach to the issue of deliberative democracy. Rather than assuming that deliberative democracy is always ideal, the authors critically probe its limits and weaknesses as well as its strengths.

"Deliberative Democracy is a timely book by an excellent group of scholars that examines an issue of major political importance: the merits of decision making by deliberation. Everyone interested in democratic theory and practice should read this far-ranging, thoughtful, and provocative collection." Amy Gutmann, Princeton University

"This thoughtful and engaging volume makes several significant contributions to our understanding of democratic deliberation. Deliberative Democracy's major insights involve the questions and challenges that it raises for our basic conceptions of deliberation and democratic decision-making. These essays place a number of important issues on the research agenda in this field." Jack Knight, Washington University in St. Louis