Deliberative Diplomacy: Performing Democracy Beyond Borders

Svea Burmester is a political scientist and researcher of international relations and democratic theory, focusing on deliberation, civic education, and American political culture. She completed her PhD at the Leibniz University of Hanover, Germany.

Extending democratic processes beyond borders is possible, particularly in civil society settings. This research project identifies deliberative diplomacy as a promising format, a new form of public diplomacy based on deliberative discourse, i.e. relying on the force of the better argument in favor of the common global good. A comprehensive analysis of the "Going Green" sustainability school project of the Embassy of the United States of America in Berlin, Germany, provides empirical evidence. Furthermore, the analysis identifies a specific window of opportunity in transatlantic relations that allowed this new phenomenon of international democratic exchange to evolve and also elaborates on its theoretical underpinnings in democratic and IR theory. Thanks to its rare insight on the attitudes of adolescents concerning transatlantic relations, environmental sustainability, and deliberation, this book is a significant contribution to the study of deliberation and civic education.

A new generation of public diplomacy has shown democratic exchange beyond borders is possible. The comprehensive empirical analysis of the Going Green sustainability school project from the American Embassy in Germany identifies this initiative as a case of deliberative diplomacy. The book furthermore elaborates on the theoretical underpinnings and identifies a specific window of opportunity in transatlantic relations that allowed this democratically promising phenomenon to evolve.

A. Deliberative Diplomacy - Ambitious and Precious

B. A Vital Discipline

The Democratic Theory of Deliberation: The Theory of Deliberative Democracy - Seizing Deliberation: Empirical Research on Deliberative Democracy Using the Discourse Quality Index and the Deliberative Transformative Moment - Classroom Deliberation: Hopes and Challenges

C. A Means of Foreign Policy: Why Use Deliberative Diplomacy?

Theories of International Relations - From a New Public Diplomacy to Deliberative Diplomacy

D. A Window of Opportunity: The Presidency of Barack Obama and Environmentalism

Cultural Codes in Transatlantic Relations - Environmental Policy and the Idea of Sustainability in Transatlantic Comparison

E. In the Field: The American Embassy's »Going Green« Project as a Case of Deliberative Diplomacy

Research Design - Deliberative Input: The »Going Green« Online Platform - Deliberative Output: Analysis of the Quality of Deliberation in Class - Mapping the Results of the Deliberative Output

F. What Happened Once

The »Going Green« project as a Case of Deliberative Diplomacy - Outlook

G. Epilogue

Bibliography

Subject Index

Online Only Appendix