Authoritarian Deliberation: Public Deliberation in China

Public deliberation has long been recognized as a cornerstone of participatory democracy and representative government. However, its potential in non-democratic societies is largely unrealized. The paper argues that democracy need not be a precursor to public deliberation. Instead, public deliberation may flourish as a viable alternative to the radical electoral democracy in authoritarian or semi-authoritarian countries like China. The project of public deliberation, the author suggests, can be broadened in ways to account for such practices as informal conversation, media and public opinion, government institutional behavior, public meetings, and civic and community life. As such, public deliberation may increase government accountability, civic participation, and the degree of democratization. The paper draws on Western theories of public deliberation and discusses the characteristics of China’s deliberative experience. Online deliberation in both Western and Chinese societies is also considered as an extension of offline activities.

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