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When War Adversaries Talk: The Experimental Effect of Engagement Rules on Postconflict Deliberation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Juan E. Ugarriza
Juan E. Ugarriza*
Affiliation:
Universidad del Rosario. juan.ugarriza@urosario.edu.co
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Abstract

A set of discussion groups including leftist ex-guerrillas and rightist ex-paramilitaries in Colombia shows the limits for democratic deliberation in postconflict societies, but also points to ways that outcomes closer to the deliberative ideal might be obtained. A total of 342 ex-combatants agreed to sit down and talk politics under a number of experimental conditions, using three different protocols of engagement. Results show that consensus rule fosters simultaneously a more reasoned and common-good–oriented, and less self-interested type of discussion when compared to majority rule and unstructured “free talk.” Nevertheless, while it might be desirable to promote a better quality of deliberation in divided societies, it does not necessarily prevent antagonists’ tendency to polarize.

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Type
Research
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 58 , Issue 3 , Fall 2016 , pp. 77 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2016

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