The Epistemic Potential of Networks of Deliberation

This paper examines the potential of networks of deliberative exchanges, in which deliberation at one site informs deliberation at another, to bring the epistemic advantages of deliberative principles to bear in plural practical contexts. Taking value diversity as a starting point, the paper casts political decision making as a partial, cumulative process of social understanding, aimed at mutual co-ordination. This process is comprised not of a single decision but a network of more limited, concrete exchanges achieved through and linked by deliberative discourse. I examine the epistemic properties of this mechanism for providing co-ordination in a way that respects plural perspectives. Significantly, this elaboration allows the underlying deliberative principles to be retained and promoted in ongoing political dialogue. I show how this gives a clearer idea of the links between the deliberative model and practice than considerations of its epistemic function hitherto.