Deliberative Democracy
Analysis
BBC
4.6 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2019
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is there a better way to heal political divides - through panels of ordinary citizens? Sonia Sodha asks if the idea of citizens' assemblies, which have been used around the world to come up with solutions to polarising issues. Proponents argue that they avoid the risks of knee-jerk legislation, winner-takes-all outcomes or the pull of populism. Many in the Republic of Ireland believe that deliberative democracy was crucial in reforming the law on abortion without causing major political upheavals. Could this method still come up with a better way forward for Brexit? Producer: Maire Devine
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.6 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.4 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable |
| 0:14.3 | experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC |
| 0:20.4 | makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | BBC Sounds. |
| 0:38.0 | BBC Sounds, Music Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:41.0 | Thanks for downloading analysis, the podcast about the ideas behind them. podcasts. podcasts, it really makes a difference, especially if you say something nice. |
| 0:55.0 | So British politics seems to be stuck, Parliament looks like a bare pit. |
| 1:00.1 | Could there be a different way to make crucial decisions, one that involves less shouting and more listening? |
| 1:06.0 | Some answers now from Sonia Soda, as she considers the pros and cons of deliberative democracy. |
| 1:12.0 | Theresa May triggering Article 52 years ago. |
| 1:16.0 | Today the government acts on the democratic will of the British people. |
| 1:22.0 | Will of the people. |
| 1:24.3 | It's a phrase we now hear a lot in British politics. |
| 1:27.6 | But what does it mean? |
| 1:30.6 | We used to think that the will of the people |
| 1:32.4 | was realized through our representatives in Parliament, |
| 1:35.0 | making decisions they think are in our best interests. |
| 1:38.0 | But since the Brexit referendum, |
... |
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