Illuminating a critical gap between deliberative democratic theory and its applications, this timely and important study shows what needs to be done to ensure deliberative processes offer more than the illusion of democracy.

1. The Hope for and Illusion of Deliberative Democracy

2. Participatory Budgeting and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation

3. Deliberative Polling and Nova Scotia Power Incorporated

4. National Consultations and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization

5. Embedded Policy Consultations and Nunavut’s Official Languages

6. Contextual Complexity and the Importance of Deliberative Democracy

Epilogue. Interpretive Case-Study Research, Its Challenges and Rewards

Genevieve Fuji Johnson is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Simon Fraser University.