Citizens' Initiative Review process: mediating emotions, promoting productive deliberation

The interplay between emotion and reason is of interest to scholars of deliberative democracy, yet it has been little analysed. Examining a 2010 Citizens' Initiative Review (CIR) in Oregon, USA, we find (1) that the participation of chief petitioners,.advocates and witnesses is conducive to the expression of emotions and (2) that, aided by moderators, panellists remain focused on clarifying key points and writing their Citizens' Statement. We conclude that the competitive collaborative structure of the CIR offers opportunities for emotional expression and reasoned deliberation while productively combining these important forms of discourse.