Leaning Into Conflict: Finding Ways to Connect Through Discursive Democracy

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Tanya Settles
August 16, 2024

With social media and the 24-hour news feed it is easy to form an opinion, but getting experience-informed perspectives to decision makers can be a challenge when local governments don’t take steps to seek and understand the experiences of the people they serve. Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan’s The Other Divide reveals that only about 20 percent of the people around us are “that into politics.” The other 80 percent might discuss politics and policy occasionally, but most of the time they don’t think about either. Consequently, the appearance of significant polarization is largely driven by the media which is able to access the 20 percent of people who have a strong opinion. This means that some voices are amplified, most voices get lost and government leaders may not have a clear perspective of how policy issues impact their community. To be clear, this isn’t about blaming the media for polarization; it is about clarifying that there are a few strong voices that self-select into debate.

Throughout many conversations with state and local government leaders and community members about the most divisive topics in public policy, I’ve learned that there are a few things that hold true: There’s strong agreement on what the important issues are and consensus on desired outcomes. There are also significant differences in perspective about how desired outcomes are achieved. Conflict is not inherently negative nor is disagreement necessarily a bad thing.  Managed conflict, though, can lead to insight, innovation and inspired decision making. This exemplifies both the challenges and beauty of a healthy democracy.

Local governments have an important role in directing conflict within their communities through inspired leadership. True leadership takes the step to embrace conflict, see it as a tool for inspiration and use it to encourage peaceful public discourse so leaders can make informed and balanced decisions about resources, programs and government operations. In other words, be attentive to polarization, but actively engage with the 80 percent of people who don’t have a strong opinion. Listen to their experiences, learn from them and include their voices in decision making processes.

There are several strategies to encourage meaningful and inspiring discourse. Local governments lead effectively when they create paths for people with different ideas and perspectives to express those ideas, avoid finger-pointing and take meaningful steps toward eliminating a “them-versus-us” mentality—something that often results in conflict that simmers below the surface, frustration and poor execution of public policy. As Maxime Lepoutre argues in Democratic Speech in Divided Times, find ways to desegregate opposing factions.  Here are some strategies that might help:

1. Use professional facilitators to guide discussions to ensure neutrality and conversations remain respectful. Organize meetings around specific services or policy domains such as housing, public safety or land use.
2. Invest in education on respectful dialogue for community members and public officials. When people learn and practice active listening and respectful debate, conflict resolution becomes possible, and that leads to innovation. This is a necessary investment in order to build a government where everyone is seen and heard. Then, go further by using the insight gained to create accessible pathways to public services where participants see their fingerprints in the end result.  
3. Be mindful of inclusive access strategies. Recognize that different generations access media and information in different ways. For younger generations, consider digital engagement; for those who may experience a “digital divide” barrier based on age, generation or location, design engagement strategies that are easy to access for a variety of participants.
4. Promote civility by highlighting respectful dialogue. Showcase examples of successful civil dialogue that resulted in changes in policy and/or positive community outcomes.
5. Partner with civic-minded organizations and non-profits to build engagement and capacity. Collaborate with organizations that can use their network to reach community members, particularly people who may not typically engage with government. Utilize these relationships to build capacity and normalize respectful and discursive democracy.
6. Seek continuous improvement. Active engagement with the community takes work, and early initiatives may need process refinement to gain the full benefit of community collaboration. Critical feedback is as valuable as positive feedback and use the information gained to refine the process and demonstrate to the community that their government is listening and acting on community-based efforts. 

Active engagement is important, but only part of the equation. Engagement needs to be followed by action. It is essential that local governments commit to following through with transparency about decision making that considers ideas and learning from public engagement. The benefits of civil discourse and community engagement are worth the effort. When governments connect with community, they earn the trust of the people they serve, broaden opportunities for innovation in government services and grant access to parts of the community they may have had difficulty connecting with. 

---

Author: Tanya Settles is the CEO of Paradigm Public Affairs, LLC.  Tanya’s areas of work include relationship building between local governments and communities, restorative justice, and the impacts of natural and human-caused disasters on at-risk populations.  Tanya can be reached at [email protected].  The opinions in this column and any mistakes are hers alone. 

 

 

 

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...