Expanding Theoretical Horizons: Applying Design Thinking Frameworks in Digital Democracy Action Research

From deliberative to participatory to epistemic models of democracy (to name but a few), political theory offers an extensive set of normative frameworks for the study of democratic innovations. Yet despite its diversity, this theoretical toolkit remains narrow in comparison to the endless variations in methods and aims of democratic initiatives being advanced around the world, as communities tackle challenges and pursue goals shaped by particular perspectives and contexts. Design thinking provides fertile ground for constructing more expansive and adaptive approaches to democratic theorising, to better engage with this diversity that belongs under the broad umbrella of 'democracy'. This paper explores this theoretical potential through two action-research case studies of processes in Australia designed to support collective decision making on contentious climate-related issues. The novel theoretical approach draws together two important contributions from previous scholarship integrating design thinking with democratic theory: Saward's Democratic Design framework (2021) for 'second-order' normative theorising, and affordance theory for in-depth analysis of the technological and social elements of the democratic designs in each case. The case for employing this novel theoretical approach arose from several key features of this action-research: 1) the case studies centred on the use of Polis, an online digital democracy tool with a structure that defies rigid categories (e.g. deliberative/aggregative, open/structured), exemplifying how digital democracy developments are prompting theoretical innovation. 2) the normative and motivational impetus in these case studies extended beyond Western-centric democratic scholarship, with multi-disciplinary influences spanning from climate governance to human-computer interaction, and strong engagement with discourses originating in Taiwan, where Polis has most prominently been used. 3) the action-research methods necessitated multi-faceted integration of normative theory with empirical work, with iterative, abductive theorising spanning process design, implementation and mixed methods empirical research. Design thinking provided valuable tools for grappling with this complexity. 4) The Democratic Design framework’s contextual and systemic perspective aligns with growing acknowledgment in democratic theory that even small-scale, relatively democratic processes should be understood through a systemic lens, and with broadening of affordance theory beyond physical and digital design to include sociopolitical procedures and contexts. The presentation will explore substantive insights arising from application of this theoretical method, including fresh perspectives on the long-standing debates about balancing depth versus scale of participation, and consensus versus diversity of opinion. It will conclude with implications for those seeking novel methods that can provide a context-sensitive basis for design and evaluation of the next generation of democratic innovations, with particular attention to designs integrating digital tools and AI.