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Overview
When we think of politics in pluralistic societies, two types of issues come to mind. On the one hand, contro-versies over affirmative action, race-conscious districting, and racial stereotypes in the media raise questions of justice. On the other hand, secessionist wars in the former Yugoslavia, religious violence in India, and race riots in American cities prompt questions about stability. But while both types of questions are crucial to resolving problems in pluralistic societies, few scholars integrate them in developing models for a just and stable multicultural policy.In this pathbreaking work, Michael Rabinder James integrates questions of justice and stability through a model of deliberative democracy in the plural polity. Drawing on empirical social science and normative political philosophy, James develops a framework for assessing democratic institutions according to three broad concerns: do they realize deliberative fairness in their decision-making procedures; can they flexibly respond to emerging and shifting collective identities; and are they able to mitigate group conflict? The core of this approach is James's model of "plural deliberation," which seeks an unrestricted scope for deliberation, processes for understanding and criticism across group boundaries, clear connections between deliberation and decision-making, and three fairness conditions (political equality, autonomy, and reciprocity) that are analyzed in both their deliberative and aggregative dimensions. Complementing "plural deliberation" are two empirically grounded investigations: a detailed account of how collective identities are socially constructed, and a rigorous analysis of how five strategic dynamics can encourage group conflict. James then uses the themes of plural deliberation, collective identity construction, and the dynamics of group conflict to assess two sets of democratic institutions: civil society or the public sphere; and electoral systems. He concludes by offering concrete but contextually sensitive proposals for reforming these and other democratic institutions. The result is perhaps the most comprehensive synthesis of insights from empirical social science and normative political philosophy regarding the problems of democracy in pluralistic societies. And instead of a naïve, utopian vision, Deliberative Democracy and the Plural Polity provides a realistic but critical reform agenda that can animate struggles for justice in an enormously diverse world.Synopsis
"Outstanding. . . . James is a political theorist who is willing to get his hands dirty by the careful study of political institutions and their actual effects. . . . A carefully argued and powerfully important contribution."—Donald L. Horowitz, author of Ethnic Groups in Conflict"The most innovative treatment of these issues to date, combining normative theory, institutional analysis, and case studies with sophistication and clarity."—Mark E. Warren, author of Democracy and Association "A marvelously nuanced, multifaceted, and sophisticated analysis of the normative foundations of the deliberative ideal. A superb achievement."—Stephen K. White, editor of Political Theory "A masterpiece and tour de force of impeccable scholarship."—David Ingram, author of Group Rights: Reconciling Equality and Difference
Author Biography: Michael Rabinder James is assistant professor in the Political Science Department and senior fellow in the Social Justice College at Bucknell University.