使协商成为可能:公共议事规则及其对社会和谐意义(英文)

【摘要】：Deliberative democracy emphasizes "deliberation," a social mechanism and public process of citizens' discussions of significant issues a society faces for collectively reaching to deeper reflections rather than populist conclusions in handling the issues.It requires public engagement in social discussions,and such engagement becomes possible only as social discussions take place with norms and rules that not only enable free participation and expression but also exchange of ideas among different,perhaps contending opinions in a fair,nonviolent,and constructive way.What kind of norms and rules for public discussions may help to facilitate democratic deliberation? How can a community work out and establish such norms and rules? How can the conflicting ideas in public discussions be channeled with the norms and rules for mutually benefits of different parts and of the entire society? This paper aims to discuss these questions,and address 1) the significance of norms and rules in facilitating deliberative democracy and social harmony;2) China has rich cultural and historical resources that may help to establish such norms and rules,while it also should have the open mind to learn from other civilizations;3) the institutional importance of such norms and rules in accommodating social conflicts and in search for social harmony.