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Association: Name: American Sociological Association URL: http://www.asanet.org
Citation: URL: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p23022_index.html Direct Link: HTML Code:

Lang, Amy. "But is it "For Real"? State control and citizen empowerment in the British Columbia Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Marriott Hotel, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia, PA, Aug 12, 2005 <Not Available>. 2008-10-23 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p23022_index.html>

Lang, A. , 2005-08-12 "But is it "For Real"? State control and citizen empowerment in the British Columbia Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Marriott Hotel, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia, PA Online <PDF>. 2008-10-23 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p23022_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript Abstract: Growing public interest in and experimentation with citizen deliberative processes raises the question of whether state-sponsored deliberation experiments are �for show� or �for real.� In this paper I examine the BC Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform in the attempt to develop some criteria for understanding how experiments such as this one may represent authentic opportunities for citizen involvement in policymaking. I argue that authenticity may be evaluated in two ways. First, authenticity may be measured by looking at the incentives to devolve decision-making power to citizens. I examine the institutional incentives and the programmatic foundations that led the BC Liberal government to devolve decision-making power to ordinary citizens on this issue. A second set of criteria for evaluating these experiments has to do with whether citizen deliberative processes actually empower citizens in ways that other citizen-input processes do not. Preliminary analysis of the proceedings of the Citizens Assembly show that there was variation in the degree to which different interests were recognized and accommodated in the process of choosing an alternative electoral system. Whether this experiment was �for real� then depends on normative judgements about what interests ought to be accommodated in this kind of process.

Parties and Anchoring Interest Groups: Organized Labor and Evangelicals Enter U.S. Electoral Politics

Unique and Common Factors Influencing a Citizen-Driven Electoral Reform Proposal: Electoral Systems and Governance Choices in the British Columbian Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform