Discourse, Debate & Democracy

An anthology of articles, taken from Controversia (the academic journal of the International Debate Education Association), that speak to the central issues of the roles of discourse and debate in democracies. The volume is divided into two parts. Part One looks at the theoretical and pedagogical relationships among argumentation, debate, and democracy. Part Two offers case studies of public argument in "(possibly) renewing" democracies as well as "(possibly) emerging" democracies. The topics of the case studies include the U.S. war in Iraq, the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, democratization trends and possibilities in various parts of the Arab world, and the Russian experience with democratization and reaction in the 1990s.

David Cratis Williams is Associate Professor of Public Communication and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies at Florida Atlantic University.

Marilyn J. Young is the Wayne C. Minnick Professor of Communication Emerita at The Florida State University.