Deliberative Democracy and its Encounters: India and the World. Questo articolo non è disponibile.Deliberative Democracy and its Encounters: India and the World

Liberal democracy, in its substantial form, has evolved into a delibera­tive system in the twenty-first century, giving rise to new debates and concerns in democratic theory. Although the ideas of deliberation and discussion made an indelible mark on democracy at its inception, the current developments are considered a watershed in deepening democracy, as they entail recognizing differences and acknowledging minority rights and interests within the deliberative process. However, the idea and practice of deliberative democracy worldwide are affected by the advent of two distinct trends – unbridled populism and contagious hate speech. These two trends, often related to each other, emerged as the mobilization strategy in contemporary liberal democracies to garner widespread support in a skewed manner when traditional political mobilization based on democratic values was failing. While populism is denigrating deliberative institutions due to the intrusive image of populist leaders, the emerging trends of irrationality and intolerance, manifested in the form of hate speech, have the potential to polarize communities and social groups in a democracy. Although India has embraced liberal democracy since its early development and has further consolidated it by ensuring political participation and account­ability over the years, there are still drawbacks that demand further democratization. The idea of deliberative democracy in India is often hindered by challenges in its realization, not only due to structural conditions but also to its inherent limitations. Added to this, like else­where, populist politics and the contagious hate speech are emerging as a potential challenge to the realisation of the deliberative turn of Indian democracy.

V. Bijukumar is a professor and former chair­person at the Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He has published four books and over a hundred research articles in various peer-reviewed national and international journals, edited volumes, and regional and national newspapers and magazines.