Participation and deliberation: divergences and tensions in the field of alternative theories of democracy

Abstract

It is already well established in political theory the debate about the criticisms made by the so-called alternative theories of democracy to the hegemonic liberal perspective and its minimalist model. It is not very common, however, the discussion around divergences within the alternative field. In this paper we propose to present the main tensions and points of detachment between two of the main alternative theories of democracy: deliberative and participatory theory. Both depart from the same place: they seek to point out the significant limits of the hegemonic approach in the attempt to broaden the normative horizon of democratic theory. In the course that leads to the expansion of democracy, however, we maintain, we distance ourselves. We will try to show that this distancing occurs around four central elements: the place of participation, popular sovereignty, conflicts and social inequalities in these two theories. We will try to understand if these points of tension deny the character of continuity between the two.