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Politics at a distance: Infrastructuring knowledge flows for democratic innovation
Jan-Peter Voß1, Jannik Schritt1, Volkan Sayman1
1Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Social Studies of Science
|August 9, 2021
Summary
This study examines how Democracy R&D builds knowledge-sharing infrastructures to support deliberative mini-publics. It explores how these practices enable the global circulation of democratic innovation know-how.
Area of Science:
- Political Science
- Sociology of Knowledge
- Science and Technology Studies
Background:
- Deliberative mini-publics are emerging as a key model for democratic innovation.
- Effective promotion of these models requires robust knowledge-sharing practices among practitioners.
- Existing research often overlooks the infrastructural and network-based mechanisms facilitating this knowledge circulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the infrastructures and practices that enable the circulation of know-how for conducting deliberative mini-publics.
- To investigate the role of networks like Democracy R&D in fostering translocal connections and collective learning.
- To understand how these infrastructures configure knowledge flow and constitute an 'instrument space' for democratic innovation.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of the organization and communication platforms within the Democracy R&D network.
- Examination of 'observatory devices' used to aggregate dispersed practices.
- Application of theoretical concepts such as 'scopic media' and 'centers of calculation' to analyze knowledge circulation.
Main Results:
- Democracy R&D utilizes specific organizational structures and online platforms to facilitate knowledge exchange among global practitioners.
- Observatory devices effectively draw dispersed practices into a shared frame for mutual learning and collective action.
- The network functions as an 'instrument space,' shaping how know-how circulates and enabling distant prefiguration of local political practices.
Conclusions:
- Infrastructures for knowledge exchange are crucial for scaling and sustaining deliberative mini-publics.
- The studied practices both enable and constrain the flow of democratic innovation know-how.
- Understanding these translocal assemblages is key to advancing democratic innovation globally.
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