Deliberation at the Margins: Participant Accounts of Face-to-Face Public Deliberation at the 1999-2000 World Trade Protests in Seattle and Prague

Abstract

Research on public deliberation overlooks imperfect forms of face-to-face deliberation that occur outside the mainstream. Such deliberation may be oriented toward the development of a counter narrative rather than a broader conception of the common good; however, it may have some of the same characteristics and effects ascribed to more refined deliberative forum. This paper explores the possibility of such deliberation by exploring the world trade protests that occurred in Seattle and Prague in 1999 and 2000. Participant observations and in-depth ethnographic interviews with three participants are used to probe the experiences of planning and participating in the demonstrations in relation to the qualities and effects of face-to-face deliberation. Despite portrayals of the protests as primarily violent street battles, the observations and interviews show evidence of public deliberation and, for the participants, increases in both political efficacy and future civic activity.

Keywords: face-to-face deliberation, protests, direct accounts, deliberation, participatory democracy