Political Dialogue as an Instrument of the Democratic Policymaking

In democratic states, the decisions concerning important social problems may be attained by means of two different modes: by means of political competition and struggle, in which the winners can impose a solution according to its own interests and values (the adversarial mode), or through dialogue aimed at solving the problem collectively (the deliberative approach). The adversarial approach assumes that there are winners and losers, whereas the deliberative approach creates a potential opportunity to consider the interests and perspectives of different parties. Critics regard the deliberative approach as unrealistic and point to its limitations. This chapter explores the example of the Round Table talks in Poland, which led to a peaceful transformation of the sociopolitical system, to discuss the psychological and social determinants of the effectiveness of this approach in politics.