Deliberation in Action – Ireland’s Abortion Referendum
| Author | Jane Suiter |
| Published date | 01 September 2018 |
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/2041905818796576 |
30 POLITICAL INSIGHT • SEPTEMBER 2018
Over the decade since the Great
Recession, European citizens
have become more critical of
democratic institutions and actors.
Levels of trust have declined as has turnout,
particularly in Eastern and Central Europe.
Authoritarianism is on the rise and anti-
establishment votes such as Brexit and Trump
have surprised, and even alarmed, political
scientists. Indeed it has become commonplace
to say that ‘democracy is in crisis’.
There is now a focus on the question
of whether the democratic institutions
developed in the 19th and 20th centuries
remain t for purpose. These mechanisms,
and in particular those relating to direct
Deliberation in Action
– Ireland’s Abortion
Referendum
At a time of declining trust in public institutions, maybe the solution
is more democracy, not less? Jane Suiter examines how Citizens
Assemblies encouraged debate, information and political change
ahead of Ireland’s recent referendum on abortion.
democracy such as referendums, come in
for particular criticism, often blamed for
exacerbating polarisation and facilitating
misrepresentation and disinformation. Elitists
might suggest that this simply means that
‘the people’ cannot be trusted with policy
choices, but others might respond that the
solution to the problem with democracies
cannot be less democracy.
Deliberative democracy
For some the answer is deliberative
democracy, a field of political inquiry
concerned with improving collective
© Press Association
PI September 2018.indd 30 27/07/2018 15:13
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