“Deliberative Democracy With a Passion: Identities, Emotions, and the Formation of Political Judgment” Conference

detail from the painting "Fallen Angel" by Alexandre Cabanel

Event time:

Thursday, May 16, 2024 - 9:00am through 5:30pm

Location:

Luce Hall, Room 203

34 Hillhouse Avenue

New Haven, CT 06511

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LINK TO REGISTER

Event description:

ISPS CONFERENCE INITIATIVE

The ideal of deliberative democracy is a normative one. Legitimacy, in this framework, arises from the equal opportunity for citizens to persuade one another about which political options should be favoured within a fair, inclusive, and transparent public exchange of arguments. Because all decisions are subject to public debate and rational justification, they are deemed to be legitimate.

Yet, whether such an ideal is achieved in practice, or even achievable in theory, is dubious. The past decade has seen an increase in misinformation and lies, political oversimplifications, and polarization. Public communications face new technological challenges, such as algorithmic curated social media platforms, and generative AI. At the same time, a realist trend in democratic theory has gained traction, highlighting how identities and cognitive biases often overshadow information-based political judgment.

This workshop will gather political theorists and empirical political scientists with the aim of encouraging a realist turn in deliberative democracy. How can (and should) deliberation affect political judgement? In what contexts and under what conditions can deliberation stimulate political action and shape voting behavior?

The last roundtable will engage in a practically-oriented debate on the future of deliberative democracy and the reforms to be enacted in the age of polarization and AI.

PLEASE REGISTER AT THIS LINK TO ATTEND

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, MAY 16: Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT

time	activity
8:30 AM	Light Breakfast, Luce Hall Common Room, 2nd Floor
9:00 AM	INTRODUCTION: Hélène Landemore and Théophile Pénigaud, Yale University
9:15 AM	HOW DOES DELIBERATION AFFECT VOTING? (Luce Room 203) Chair: Hélène Landemore, Yale University Christopher Achen, Princeton University “Advice Not Taken: Canadian Citizen Assemblies and Subsequent Referendums” Chiara Destri, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany “Being a Decent Citizen: Informed Voting as Due Diligence” Théophile Pénigaud, Yale University “Causes and Reasons in Voting Behaviors’ Discussant: Mark Warren, University of British Columbia
10:45 AM	Coffee Break, Luce Hall Common Room, 2nd Floor
11:00 AM	EMOTIONS AND REASON IN POLITICAL JUDGMENT (Luce Room 203) Chair: Dimitri Courant, Harvard University André Bachtiger, Universität Stuttgart, Germany “Disentangling Deliberation and Unleashing its Potential for Democracy in Stressful Times: How Contestatory, Collaborative and Open Communication Formats Deepen, Bridge and Move” Dimitri Landa, New York University “Imperfect Deliberative Constraints in Representation” Amanda Weiss, Yale University “Understanding Political Emotions: Evidence from Two Experiments” Discussant: Bryan Garsten, Yale University
12:30 PM	Lunch Break, Luce Hall Common Room, 2nd Floor
1:30 PM	THE POLITICS OF EMOTIONS (Luce Room 203) Chair: Antonin Lacelle-Webster, Yale University Hélène Landemore, Yale University “Truth and Love in Politics” Lala Muradova, University of Southampton, UK “Affective Deliberative Democracy” Discussant: Steven Smith, Yale University
2:30 PM	POLITICAL JUDGMENT, FUTURE, AND IMAGINATION (Luce Room 203) Chair: Mark Warren, University of British Columbia Antonin Lacelle-Webster, Yale University “What Should “We” Hope For? Democratic Hope and the Collective, Uncertain, and Future-oriented Dimensions of Democratic Politics” Deva Woodly, Brown University “21st Century Reconstruction: “Non-reformist Reforms” and the Politics of Futurity” Discussant: Jane Mansbridge, Harvard University
3:30 PM	Coffee Break, Luce Hall Common Room, 2nd Floor
4:00 PM	ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: Does Deliberative Democracy Have a Future in the Age of Polarization and Artificial Intelligence? (Luce Auditorium) Bruce Ackerman, Yale Law School André Bächtiger, Universität Stuttgart, Germany Jane Mansbridge, Harvard Kennedy School Deva Woodly, Brown University Moderators: Hélène Landemore and Théophile Pénigaud, Yale University
5:30 PM	Conference Adjourns

Sponsored by the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale University