Democracy and the Future

Michael K. MacKenzie is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests include democratic theory, intergenerational relations, deliberation, environmental policy, political representation, institutional design, and public engagement. He is the author of Future Publics: Democracy, Deliberation, and Future-Regarding Collective Action, New York: Oxford University Press (2021) along with several other books, chapters and articles. Maija Setälä is Professor in Political Science at the University of Turku. She specializes in democratic theory, with a focus on deliberative democracy, direct democracy, and democratic innovations. She is the author of Referendums and Democratic Government: Normative Theory and the Analysis of Institutions, Basingstoke: Macmillan Press (1999) and several other chapters and articles both in Englishand Finnish.Simo Kyllönen is Lecturer in Research Ethics and Open Science at the University of Helsinki. His main research topics are related to intergenerational justice, democratic theory and ethics of climate change. He has contributed to books and journals on climate change, intergenerational ethics and democracy.

This fascinating volume brings together leading political theorists and empirical researchers to illuminate the relationship between democracy and long-term decision-making. Starting from an analysis of the myriad tensions between democratic politics and future-regarding governance, the book goes on to unearth a variety of ways in which well-designed institutions, well-structured deliberations, and farsighted leaders can help democracies manage long-term societal challenges. The volume will be invaluable to both scholars and policymakers seeking to more strongly orient democratic politics toward the future.

• Introduction: The Challenges and Possibilities of Future-Regarding GovernanceSimo Kyllönen, Michael K. MacKenzie and Maija SetäläPart I: The Challenges of Long-Term Decision Making Chapter 1: Three Challenges for Long-Term Decision-Making in Democracies: Boundaries, Knowledge, and Incentives Mark E. WarrenChapter 2: Democratic Weakness of Will Eerik LagerspetzChapter 3: Reversibility and Democracy: The Epistemic Functions of Political Competition Alfred MooreChapter 4: The Covid-19 Pandemic and Global Climate Change – Comparing Two Long-Term Dangers Sven Ove HanssonPart II: Thinking and Acting in Future-Regarding Ways Chapter 5: Perspective-Taking, Deliberation, and Future Generations Kaisa HerneChapter 6: Hearing Silent Voices? Representing Identified and Statistical Policy Victims Claudia LandwehrChapter 7: Future-Regarding Democratic Leadership Michael K. MackenziePart III: Institutional Design Chapter 8: Democratic Design for Future-Regarding Institutions Graham SmithChapter 9: Democratic Institutions and Future Generations Didier Caluwaerts, and Daan VermassenPart IV: Long-Term Policymaking in Finland Chapter 10: The Finnish National Foresight System Vesa KoskimaaChapter 11: Voter Myopia Reassessed Lauri Rapeli12. Deliberative Minipublics and Climate Change PolicyMaija Setälä, Katariina Kulha, Hilma SormunenChapter 13: Conclusion: Future-Regarding Governance – Four Tensions and a Research Agenda Michael K. MacKenzie, Simo Kyllönen, and Maija Setälä