Disability and deliberative democracy: towards involving the whole human spectrum in public deliberation

Table 1.

Disability in deliberative democracyClassical, liberal and cognitive side of deliberationExpanded, critical and affective side of deliberationPremiseTo strive to respond to the challenges of contemporary liberal democracies.To examine the ‘limits of democracy’ by articulating the injustices within.Cognition/affectDeliberation understood as a purely cognitive process.Emphasis on the role of affect in public deliberation.CommunicationFavours calm, dispassionate, literal and disembodied speech.Accepts many different ways of verbal and embodied communication.InclusivenessCognitively impaired persons and the speech-impaired population are left outside of public deliberation.As every one of us is cognitively limited, everybody is considered having ‘deliberative capacities’.LegitimacyThe legitimacy of deliberative democracy is questionable.As inclusiveness increases, the legitimacy of deliberative democracy strengthens.

Table 2.

DisabilityNumber of applicantsParticipated in the juryIntellectual disability20Physical disability114Mental disability21Hearing impairment42Visual impairment22Mental and neurological disorders42

Table 3.

Age groupNumber<25026–35436–45146–55156–65166 +2

Table 4.

Disability in a citizens' jury format of deliberative democracyCitizens' jury for people with disabilitiesPremiseEmpowerment of people with disabilitiesCognition/affectEmpathy in an important roleCommunicationPlurality valuedInclusivenessEverybody having an equal right to be heardLegitimacyIncreased legitimacy by investing in quality of deliberation, effectiveness of the declaration and inclusiveness of the jury