- Place of Publication: Washington, DC
- Publisher: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- Editors: Heller Patrick, Vijayendra Rao
"This book brings together two fields that rarely converse with one another:
deliberative democracy and development studies. The study of deliberation—which explores normative and practical questions around group-based decision making via discussion or debate, particularly as an alternate or supplement to voting or bargaining—has emerged as a critical part of the debate on democracy over the last two decades. Concurrently, the field of development has seen a spurt of interest in community-led development and participation premised on the ability of groups to arrive at decisions and manage resources via a process of discussion and debate. Despite the growing interest in both fields, they have rarely engaged with one another.
This book brings together new essays by some of the leading scholars in the field. Our hope is that it will deepen the understanding of participatory decision making in developing countries while initiating a new field of study for scholars of deliberation. In the process, we hope it will shed light on how to best design and implement policies to strengthen the role of participation in development."
- From Preface