An agent-based model of deliberative democracy and polarization

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we examined the effect of deliberative democracy on the polarization of opinion. Through three case analyses, we find that deliberative democracy has two major components – provision of information and group discussion. Polarization of opinion can be explained by several theories: social identity theory, social comparison, and confirmation bias. We constructed a deliberative democracy model that reflected these mechanisms of polarization. We found that deliberative democracy actually decreased polarization of opinion when group discussion was a strong factor. Our study provides guidelines for an institutional design incorporating deliberative democracy, with emphasis on the composition of unbiased group discussions.

KEY WORDS:

• Deliberative democracy
• polarization
• social identity theory
• social comparison
• conformation bias
• group discussion

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was in part supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea [NRF-2016S1A5A8019490].