The Effects of Deliberation on Citizen Knowledge, Attitudes and Preferences: A Case Study of a Belgrade Deliberative Mini Public

Abstract

Participation in deliberative arenas is often lauded for its transformative impact on citizens’ attitudes, sense of agency and ability to formulate concrete policy proposals. The focus of this paper is the first ever deliberative mini public in Belgrade, centred on the topic of expanding the pedestrian zone and rerouting traffic in the city core. By relying on a set of qualitative and quantitative data collected before and after the deliberation, we aim to explore the effects of the public deliberation on the participants’ knowledge, attitudes and preferences. Our hypothesis was that participation in this deliberative process led to better understanding (enhanced knowledge) of the discussed topic and change in attitudes and preferences regarding its realization. The scope of this study is limited, given the non-experimental design and small sample. Overall, the results indicate that participants` knowledge on the topic of deliberation is enhanced, becoming more precise, elaborate and encompassing different perspectives. As for the attitudes and preferences, in most cases, around two-thirds of the sample changed their positions, while about a third of the sample changed sides, mostly agreeing less with the expansion of the pedestrian zone. The findings support the conclusion that, on a local level, deliberation has the capacity to inform and enhance competence for greater political participation.

Učešće u deliberativnim arenama često se pozitivno ocenjuje zbog transformativnog uticaja na stavove građana, na njihov osećaj moći delovanja i na njihovu sposobnost da formulišu konkretne predloge javnih politika. U fokusu ovog rada je prva deliberativna mini javnost u Beogradu, organizovana na temu proširenja pešačke zone i preusmeravanja saobraćaja u centralnom delu grada. Oslanjajući se na skup kvalitativnih i kvantitativnih podataka priku-pljenih pre i posle deliberacije, cilj nam je da istražimo efekte javne rasprave na znanje, sta-vove i preferencije učesnika. Naša hipoteza je da je učešće u ovom deliberativnom procesu dovelo do boljeg razumevanja (produbljenog znanja) diskutovane teme, kao i do promene stavova i preferencija u vezi s njenom realizacijom. Iako je opseg studije ograničen, s obzirom na njen neeksperimentalni dizajn i mali uzorak, izvedeni rezultati pokazuju da se znanje uče-snika o temi unapredilo, postalo preciznije, razrađenije i otvorenije za različite perspektive. Što se tiče stavova i preferencija, oko dve trećine uzorka je promenilo stav, po najvećem broju pitanja, dok je oko jedna trećina promenila stranu, uglavnom u pravcu manjeg slaganja s predlogom proširenja pešačke zone. Nalazi podržavaju zaključak da, na lokalnom nivou, deliberacija ima kapacitet da informiše učesnike i unapredi njihove kompetencije za šire političko učešće.