Abstract
This article critically examines the question of how to link the ‘micro’ of deliberative mini-publics with the ‘macro’ of the democratic system. To explore this puzzle, we relate to EuroPolis, a transnational deliberative experiment that took place one week ahead of the 2009 European Parliamentary elections. The main argument is that although the scientific design of deliberative polls is a necessary condition for the fulfilment of the criteria for equal participation and informed opinion-making of selected citizens (the micro-dimension), this does not necessarily translate into a democratically representative and legitimate proxy for the broader political constituency (the macro-dimension). This problem is potentially exacerbated in deliberative settings that cut across domestic political cultures and nationalized public spheres.
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Espen D.H. Olsen and Hans-Jörg Trenz
The Micro–Macro Link in Deliberative Polling: Science or Politics?
Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Volume 19, 2016 - Issue 6, Pages 662-679
DOI: 10.1080/13698230.2014.983363