It is sometimes assumed that voting is the central mechanism for political decision-making. The contributors to this volume focus on an alternative mechanism, that is decision by discussion or deliberation. Rather than assuming that deliberative democracy is always ideal, the authors critically probe its limits and weaknesses as well as its strengths.

List of contributors; Preface and acknowledgement; Introduction Jon Elster; 1. 'Claro!': an essay on discursive machismo Diego Gambetta; 2. Deliberation as discussion James D. Fearon; 3. All men are liars: is democracy meaningless? Gerrie Mackie; 4. Deliberation and constitution making Jon Elster; 5. Pathologies of deliberation Susan C. Stokes; 6. Deliberation and ideological domination Adam Przeworski; 7. Arguing for deliberation: some skeptical considerations James Johnson; 8. Democracy and liberty Joshua Cohen; 9. Health-health trade-offs Cass R. Sunstein; 10. Full representation, deliberation and impartiality Roberto Gargarella; Index.

"Deliberative Democracy is a timely book by an excellent group of scholars that examines an issue of major political importance: the merits of decision making by deliberation. Everyone interested in democratic theory and practice should read this far-ranging, thoughtful, and provocative collection." Amy Gutmann, Princeton University"This thoughtful and engaging volume makes several significant contributions to our understanding of democratic deliberation. Deliberative Democracy's major insights involve the questions and challenges that it raises for our basic conceptions of deliberation and democratic decision-making. These essays place a number of important issues on the research agenda in this field." Jack Knight, Washington University in St. Louis