WHY THE DELIBERATIVE IDEAL JUSTIFIES PUBLICITY – EVEN IF PUBLICITY MAY UNDERMINE DELIBERATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21814/eps.2.1.93Keywords:
political publicity, political secrecy, public deliberationAbstract
This paper critical assesses those arguments in democratic theory which defend the role of secrecy in politics in epistemic terms, that is, by emphasizing some of the negative effects that publicity in deliberation can have (namely: obscuring the informational process, favoring plebiscitory rhetorics, and replacing open discussion with conformist behaviors and/or bargaining). Based upon the analysis of the 2010-2011 Belgian Sixth State Reform, the paper argues that, even if publicity can produce negative effects on deliberation, it cannot be proven that these effects are more severe than those produced by a closed-doors deliberation. Furthermore, it argues that an epistemic justification of closed-door deliberation could not be accepted by a reasonable citizen: the justification of publicity does not rely on its epistemic positive effects, but on the fact that the assessment and definition of these cannot be left to the negotiating parties.
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