Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative versus Participatory Democracy

by Diana C. Mutz

• ISBN13: 9780521612289
• ISBN10: 0521612284
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

'Religion and politics', as the old saying goes, 'should never be discussed in mixed company.'And yet fostering discussions that cross lines of political difference has long been a central concern of political theorists. More recently, it has also become a cause cèlébre for pundits and civic-minded citizens wanting to improve the health of American democracy. But only recently have scholars begun empirical investigations of where and with what consequences people interact with those whose political views differ from their own. Hearing the Other Side examines this theme in the context of the contemporary United States. It is unique in its effort to link political theory with empirical research. Drawing on her empirical work, Mutz suggests that it is doubtful that an extremely activist political culture can also be a heavily deliberative one.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
1 Hearing the Other Side, in Theory and in Practice	1	(18)
2 Encountering Mixed Political Company: With Whom and in What Context?	19	(38)
3 Benefits of Hearing the Other Side	57	(32)
4 The Dark Side of Mixed Political Company	89	(36)
5 The Social Citizen	125	(28)
References	153	(14)
Index	167