Collective Decision Making Around the World: Essays on Historical Deliberative Practices

by Ileana Martin (Editor)

Is public deliberation rare? How widespread has it been? Are deliberation’s organic practices at the very core of collective decision making? Did it exist before governments developed?

The case studies included in this book, edited by Kettering Foundation program officer Ileana Marin, begin to answer these questions. The research suggests, rather paradoxically, that deliberation may have been widespread throughout the world and throughout history. Taken as a whole, the case studies also show that deliberation is both fragile and powerful. It can be destroyed by top-down politics, but like a sturdy plant, if eradicated in one area, it reseeds itself in another. Collective Decision Making around the World includes chapters written by international colleagues of the Kettering Foundation. In spite of the challenge of finding accurate historical records, this volume contains six case studies describing deliberative practices in six Albania, Cameroon, Colombia, New Zealand, Romania, and Russia. Chapters in this volume Introduction, Julie Fisher and Ileana Marin Background The Political Anthropology of Civil Practices, Noëlle McAfee and Denis Gilbert Traditional Decision-Making The Case of the Baka People in Cameroon, Joseph Sany Nzima Artisan Democratic Colombia, 1830–1870, Catalina Arreaza and Gabriel Murillo Ancient Public Deliberation and Assembly in the Code of Lekë Dukagjini, Daut Dauti Pacific Ways of Talk―Hui and Talanoa, David Robinson and Kayt Robinson The Romanian A Historic Deliberative Experience, Ruxandra Petre Early Traditions of Collective Decision Making in Russia, German Artamonov and Denis V. Makarov Afterword, David Mathews.

About the Kettering Foundation The Kettering Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit operating foundation rooted in the American tradition of cooperative research. Kettering’s primary research question What does it take to make democracy work as it should? Kettering’s research is distinctive because it is conducted from the perspective of citizens and focuses on what people can do collectively to address problems affecting their lives, their communities, and their nation. For more information about Kettering research and publications, see the Kettering Foundation’s website at www.kettering.org.

198 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Corey Buttry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains historical accounts and structural analyses of six cultural decision-making processes from the last few thousand years. The authors examine modern power structures through an historical lens, and demonstrate how thoroughly dominating, expansive nation-states have neutered the traditional political processes of communities.

Athenian democracy is referenced only once; instead, the authors demonstrate that community-based deliberation and decision-making is natural to all cultures. By exploring the variations between just six manifestations of effective self-governance, the authors reveal how inadequate today’s dominant political structures are for addressing today’s global issues.

This collection of essays is a good reminder that politics precedes government, and that deliberations are crucial to bringing about public action - with or without acceptance by the established government.

I would recommend this book to any of my peers who feel a desire to return to a political system that has shut out and alienated you. These examples of ancient societal deliberative practices will leave you feeling empowered and encourage you to build on the legacy of your politically-minded ancestors.