Paper topic

This paper will examine the potential for citizen participation in the construction of administrative law to serve as an opportunity for deliberative democracy. I will first provide an overview of the necessity of fostering deliberative democracy as well as a discussion of what forms deliberative democracy may take. Using Coleman and Blumler's concept of a "civic commons" as a roadmap, I offer a description of the ways in which the administrative law process may approximate a "civic commons." I end with a research design aimed to test the potential relationship between administrative law and deliberative democracy.

Civic Commons

Coleman and Blumler discuss the potential for the Internet serving as a "civic commons," and describe the "civic commons" as:

an enduring structure which could realize more fully the democratic potential of the new interactive media. This would involve the establishment of an entirely new kind of public agency, designed to forge fresh links between communication and politics and to connect the voice of the people more meaningfully to the daily activities of democratic institutions. The organization would be publicly funded but would be independent from government. It would be responsible for eliciting, gathering, and coordinating citizens' deliberations upon and reactions to problems faced and proposals issues by public bodies (ranging from local councisl to parliaments and government departments), which would then be expected to react formally to whatever emerges from the public discussion (Coleman and Blumler 181).

While not conforming entirely to the parameters of a civic commons described by Coleman and Blumler, various characteristics of administrative agencies in the United States mirror these parameters. In certain circumstances, administrative agencies are required by law to respond to petitions for agency action submitted by citizens, must produce a record that reflects input received from interested parties, and often must base their decision or be able to justify their decision on what is contained in that record. Furthermore, administrative agencies are encouraged by law to utilize "electronic dockets" to allow interested persons to participate in agency decision making procedures by submitting documents electronically (Funk et al. 2006: 111). Certain aspects of the administrative law process, then, contain elements of a civic commons as they encourage public input and hold decision makers accountable.