Mediated Deliberation

Mediated deliberation refers to a family of media communication processes conducive to a well‐ordered polity as envisioned in deliberative theories of democracy. It is based on the traditional engagement of deliberation scholars with face‐to‐face small‐group communication and has evolved into a distinct program of empirical and normative research. This entry traces the relations to deliberative democratic theory, highlights the differences between mediated deliberation and face‐to‐face deliberation, provides an overview of the key components of mediated deliberation processes, and outlines future directions in researching mediated deliberation.