Administrative Law and Discursive Democracy: Toward a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This article argues that the recent history of the development of administrative law reveals the need for new mechanisms of legitimation. As administrative law seeks new ways to address its “democratic deficit,” there is an opportunity to adapt techniques of discursive democracy to the creation of regulatory policy within bureaucratic agencies. The dynamics of this process are discussed in both the U. S. and Italian administrative contexts.

Keywords:

• administrative discretion
• administrative law
• discursive democracy
• rule making