Democrazia Deliberativa: dai suoi fondamenti teorici alle sue applicazioni pratiche. Un'indagine sui Panel dei Cittadini Europei.

This work examines the concept of deliberative democracy as a theory of political legitimacy. According to this theory, a political decision can be considered legitimate only when all the citizens affected by the latter can deliberate on/ justify it. After having built a theoretical and philosophical framework for this theory, the work delves into two of its biggest contributors, Jürgen Habermas and John Rawls, and shows how deliberative democracy is a crucial element within their complex legitimacy model of liberal democracy. Ultimately, the work inquiries one of its several practical applications: mini-publics. It is a form of democratic innovation that has been employed across several countries (and non) at different levels of governance. With respect to this, the three new generation European Citizens’ Panels will be the object of further inquiry: its process will be eviscerated, along with its several flaws.