green politics and deliberative democracy

As part of the self-reflective movement in which green politics has been engaged for the last decade, the construction of green democracy has been submitted to increasing scrutiny. Relationship between democracy and environmentalism has traditionally been problematic, but once green committment to democracy has proven to be firm enough, the search for that model of democracy more suitable for the achievement of green goals is taking place. And it turns out to be deliberative democracy, a general overview of which is here presented. In the absence of any unified theoretical defence, several arguments emerge when deliberative principles and procedures are to be justified from a specific green standpoint –ranging from the inclusion of natural world into politics, to the development of ecological citizenship and the integration of lay and expertise judgement on environmental risks. This paper offers a critical assessment of the green case for deliberative democracy, showing that maybe deliberation is asked to deliver more than it is able to. However, it is suggested that it is the connection between sustainability, understood as a normative principle, and deliberative procedures, which may offer the best grounds for such a defence.