Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T07:46:10.908Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Deliberative inclusion of minorities: patterns of reciprocity among linguistic groups in Switzerland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2012

Seraina Pedrini ,
André Bächtiger  and
Marco R. Steenbergen
Seraina Pedrini*
Affiliation:
PhD Student, Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland Research Assistant, Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
André Bächtiger
Affiliation:
Swiss National Science Foundation Research Professor, Institute for Political Science, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Marco R. Steenbergen
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We present a model of deliberative inclusion, focusing on reciprocity in the interaction between structural minorities/disadvantaged groups and majorities/privileged groups. Our model, however, comes with a ‘friendly amendment’: we have put the ‘burden of reciprocity’ mainly on majorities and privileged groups. It is mainly their obligation to seriously listen and respond to the demands and arguments of minorities and disadvantaged groups and show a willingness to respect and accommodate these interests. Empirically, we apply our model to the interaction of linguistic groups in the Swiss parliament. We find a highly egalitarian, sometimes even minority-favoring mode of interaction between the German-speaking majority and linguistic minorities. The German-speaking majority seems to be willing to take the ‘burden of reciprocity’ when linguistic minorities’ vital interests are concerned. Conversely, linguistic minorities are slightly more self-referential and adversarial under such conditions.

Keywords

deliberationminoritiesinclusion
Type
Research Article
Information
European Political Science Review , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , November 2013 , pp. 483 - 512
Copyright
Copyright © European Consortium for Political Research 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adcock, R.Collier, D. (2001), ‘Measurement validity: a shared standard for qualitative and quantitative research’, American Political Science Review 95: 529–546.Google Scholar
Amy, D.J. (1997), Proportional Representation. The Case for a Better Election System, Northampton, MA, USA: Crescent Street Press.Google Scholar
Bächtiger, A.Steiner, J. (2004), ‘Switzerland: territorial cleavage management as paragon and paradox’, in U. Amoretti and N. Bermeo (eds), Federalism and Territorial Cleavages, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 27–54.Google Scholar
Bächtiger, A.Hangartner, D. (2010), ‘When deliberative theory meets empirical political science: theoretical and methodological challenges in political deliberation’, Political Studies 58(4): 609–629.Google Scholar
Bächtiger, A., Niemeyer, S., Neblo, M., Steenbergen, M.R.Steiner, J. (2010a), ‘Disentangling diversity in deliberative democracy: competing theories, their empirical blind-spots, and complementarities’, Journal of Political Philosophy 18: 32–63.Google Scholar
Bächtiger, A., Pedrini, S.Ryser, M. (2010b), ‘Prozessanalyse politischer Entscheidungen: Deliberative Standards, Diskurstypen und Sequenzialisierung’, in J. Behnke, T. Bräuninger and S. Shikano (eds), Jahrbuch für Handlungs- und Entscheidungstheorie. Band 6: Schwerpunkt Neuere Entwicklungen des Konzepts der Rationalität und ihre Anwendungen, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, pp. 193–226.Google Scholar
Bickford, S. (1996), The Dissonance of Democracy: Listening, Conflict, and Citizenship, Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Ceschi, R. (1991), ‘Un Ticino poco svizzero? L'epoca dei malintesi 1880-1940’, Neue Studien zum Schweizerischen Nationalbewusstsein, Fasc. 13: 53–65., Basel: Schwabe.Google Scholar
Dobson, A. (2010), ‘Democracy and nature: speaking and listening’, Political Studies 58: 752–768.Google Scholar
Dryzek, J.S.Niemeyer, S. (2008), ‘Discursive representation’, American Political Science Review 102(4): 418–493.Google Scholar
Du Bois, P. (1999), Alémanniques et Romands entre unité et discorde, Lausanne: Favre.Google Scholar
Eidgenössische Volkszählung (2000), ‘Sprachenlandschaft in der Schweiz.’ Retrieved 28 September 2011 from http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/01/22/publ.Document.52216.pdf.Google Scholar
Espinoza, J.A.Garza, R.T. (1985), ‘Social group salience and interethnic cooperation’, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 21(4): 380–392.Google Scholar
Ferrari, S.Cribari-Neto, F. (2004), ‘Beta regression for modelling rates and proportions’, Journal of Applied Statistics 31(7): 799–815.Google Scholar
Gerber, M. (2012), ‘On the possibility of fruitful dialogue among a collection of strangers. European Citizen Participation in a pan-European Deliberative Poll (Europolis).’ Paper presented at the ‘Conference on Deliberative Democracy in Action’, 5–7 June 2012, Turku/Åbo.Google Scholar
Goodin, R.E. (2000), ‘Democratic deliberation within’, Philosophy and Public Affairs 29: 81–109.Google Scholar
Gutmann, A.Thompson, D. (1996), Democracy and Disagreement, Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Horowitz, D.L. (2002), ‘Constitutional design. Proposals versus processes’, in A. Reynolds (ed.), The Architecture of Democracy. Constitutional Design, Conflict Management, and Democracy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 15–36.Google Scholar
Knight, J.Johnson, J. (1997), ‘What sort of equality does deliberative democracy require?’, in J. Bohman and W. Rehg (eds), Deliberative Democracy, Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press, pp. 279–320.Google Scholar
Kübler, D., Papadopoulos, I., Mazzoleni, O. (2009). ‘Le plurilinguisme de la Confédération Représentation et pratiques linguistiques dans l'administration fédérale.’ Retrieved 28 September 2011 from http://www.nfp56.ch/d_projekt.cfm?Projects.Command=details&get=26&kati=3.Google Scholar
Lazer, D., Rubineau, B., Chetkovitch, C., Katz, N.Neblo, M. (2010), ‘The coevolution of networks and political attitudes’, Political Communication 27: 248–274.Google Scholar
Levitt, S. (2004), ‘Testing theories of discrimination: evidence from weakest link’, Journal of Law and Economics 47: 431–452.Google Scholar
Lijphart, A. (1977), Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Linder, W. (2005), Schweizerische Demokratie. Institutionen, Prozesse, Perspektiven, Bern: Haupt.Google Scholar
Long, J.S. (1997), Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables, Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar
Markovits, E. (2006), ‘The trouble with being earnest: deliberative democracy and the sincerity norm’, Journal of Political Philosophy 14: 249–269.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, J., Bohman, J., Chambers, S., Christiano, T., Fung, A., Parkinson, J., Thompson, D., Warren, M (2012), ‘A Systemic Approach to Deliberative Democracy’, in J. Parkinson and J. Mansbridge (eds), Deliberative Systems: Deliberative Democracy at the Large Scale, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–26.Google Scholar
Mendelberg, T.Karpowitz, C. (2007), ‘How people deliberate about justice: groups, gender, and decision rules’, in S.W. Rosenberg (ed.), Deliberation, Participation and Democracy: Can the People Govern?, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 101–129.Google Scholar
Mutz, D.C. (2008), ‘Is deliberative democracy a falsifiable theory?’, Annual Review of Political Science 11: 521–538.Google Scholar
O'Flynn, I. (2007), ‘Divided societies and deliberative democracy’, British Journal of Political Science 37(4): 731–751.Google Scholar
O'Flynn, I. (2010), ‘Deliberative democracy, the public interest and the consociational model’, Political Studies 58(3): 572–589.Google Scholar
Philips, A. (1995), The Politics of Presence, Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Sanders, L. (1997), ‘Against deliberation’, Political Theory 25: 347–375.Google Scholar
Schmid, C.L. (1981), Conflict and Consensus in Switzerland, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Schneiderhan, E.Khan, S. (2008), ‘Reasons and inclusion: the foundation of deliberation’, Sociological Theory 26: 1–24.Google Scholar
Spörndli, M. (2004), Diskurs und Entscheidung. Eine empirische Analyse kommunikativen Handelns im deutschen Vermittlungsausschuss, Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.Google Scholar
Stasavage, D. (2007), ‘Polarization and publicity: rethinking the benefits of deliberative democracy’, Journal of Politics 69: 59–72.Google Scholar
Steenbergen, M.R., Bächtiger, A., Spörndli, M.Steiner, J. (2003), ‘Measuring political deliberation: a discourse quality index’, Comparative European Politics 1: 21–48.Google Scholar
Steiner, J., Bächtiger, A., Spörndli, M.Steenbergen, M.R. (2004), Deliberative Politics in Action. Analysing Parliamentary Discourse, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, D. (2008), ‘Deliberative democratic theory and empirical political science’, Annual Review of Political Science 11: 497–520.Google Scholar
Urbinati, N. (2000), ‘Representation as advocacy: a study of democratic deliberation’, Political Theory 28: 758–786.Google Scholar
Valadez, J.M. (2001), Deliberative Democracy, Political Legitimacy, and Self-Determination in Multicultural Societies, Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Vatter, A.Danaci, D. (2010), ‘Mehrheitstyrannei durch volksentscheide? zum spannungsverhältnis zwischen direkter demokratie und minderheitenschutz’, Politische Vierteljahresschrift 51(2): 205–222.Google Scholar
Warren, M.E. (2006), ‘What should and should not be said: deliberating sensitive issues’, Journal of Social Philosophy 37: 163–181.Google Scholar
Williams, M.S. (1998), Voice, Trust and Memory: Marginalized Groups and the Failings of Liberal Representation, Princeton: Princeton University.Google Scholar
Williams, M.S. (2000), ‘The uneasy alliance of group representation and deliberative democracy’, in W. Kymlicka and W. Norman (eds), Citizenship in Diverse Societies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 124–152.Google Scholar
Young, I.M. (2001), ‘Activist challenges to deliberative democracy’, Political Theory 29: 670–690.Google Scholar
Young, I.M. (2002), Inclusion and Democracy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Baechtiger Supplementary Material

Appendix

Download Baechtiger Supplementary Material(File)
File 87 KB