Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

Navigating Dangerous Deliberative Waters: Shallow Argument Pools, Group Polarization And Public Debate Pedagogy In Southeast Europe, Gordon R. Mitchell, Damien S. Pfister, Georgeta Bradatan, Dejan Colev, Tsvetelina Manolova, Gligor Mitkovski, Ivanichka Nestorova, Milena Ristic, Gentiana Sheshi

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

An Albanian social movement called Mjaft ! serves as a synecdoche for wider trends unfolding in Southeast Europe, where student, driven public deliberation is enlivening the political landscape not only in Albania, but also in Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania. What do these initiatives suggest about the political dynamics of linkages formed between academic debating groups and civil society organizations? Can public debate democratically energize South, east European citizenries? What general insight does this case study reveal about argumentation as applied critical practice? This paper explores these questions by drawing from collaborative research conducted by the authors under …