This book provides an overview of, and new contributions to the study of political discussion in comparative politics. It examines deliberation and discussion as the object of analysis and the consequences of political discussion and deliberation.

1. Introduction: Political Discussion in Modern Democracies from a Comparative Perspective Michael R. Wolf and Ken'ichi Ikeda Part 1: Deliberation and Discussion as the Object of Analysis 2. Dissecting Deliberative Democracy: A Review of Theoretical Concepts and Empirical Findings André Bächtiger and Seraina Pedrini 3. The Equality Paradox of Deliberative Democracy: Evidence from a National Deliberative Poll Kasper Møller Hansen 4. What Political Discussion Means and How Do the French and (French-Speaking) Belgians Deal with It? Sophie Duchesne and Florence Haegel 5. Participatory Budgeting, Discussion Networks and Political Information in Two Brazilian Cities Lucio R. Renno and Barry Ames 6. Local Partisan Context and Political Discussion Network Construction: Minority Party Loyalty Under Challenge Michael R. Wolf 7. Voters' Political Conversations During the 2005 German Parliamentary Election Campaign Thorsten Faas and Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck Part 2: The Consequences of Discussion and Deliberation 8. The Consequences of Discussion and Deliberation within Networks: An Introduction Ken'ichi Ikeda and Robert Huckfeldt 9. The Impact of Everyday Political Talk on Involvement, Knowledge and Informed Voting Gabor Toka 10. Patterns of Support for the Welfare State: The Role of Media and Interpersonal Communication in Direct Democratic Votes in Switzerland (1996-2004) Lionel Marquis 11. Social Networks, Voting and Campaign Participation in Japan: The Interpersonal Political Environment and the Autonomous Dimension of Social Networks Ken'ichi Ikeda 12. The Role of Political Discussion in Developing Democracies: Evidence from Hungary Oana Lup 13. Getting a Single Message? The Impact of Homogeneous Political Communication Contexts in Spain in a Comparative Perspective Laura Morales 14. Conclusion: Assessing the Role of Political Discussion in Democratic Politics in Comparative Perspective Ken'ichi Ikeda and Laura Morales