The Political Use of Evidence and its Contribution to Democratic Discourse

Schlaufer, Caroline; Stucki, Iris; Sager, Fritz (2018). The Political Use of Evidence and its Contribution to Democratic Discourse. Public Administration Review, 78(4), pp. 645-649. Blackwell 10.1111/puar.12923

	Text Schlaufer, Stucki & Sager_The Political Use of Evidence and Its Contribution to Democratic Discourse.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (609kB) | Request a copy
Preview	Text The_Political_Use_of_Evidence_and_Its_Contribution_to_Democratic_Discourse_Preprint.pdf - Submitted Version Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (123kB) | Preview

This article argues that evidence, even when used politically, contributes to high-quality democratic discourse. Research results on the use of evidence in referendum campaigns in Switzerland show that (1) evidence fosters discourse quality and shifts the focus away from politics to policy; (2) evaluations and basic research contribute positively to discourse, but not opinion surveys and statistics; (3) the participation of experts and administrative practitioners in discourse is crucial to make evidence available to the public; and (4) evidence is always used as a part of a narrative and can alter the constructed images used in a story. In conclusion, the implications for practitioners are discussed.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

10 since deposited on 05 Apr 2018
4 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item