Political Landscape of Pakistan and Emerging Space for Deliberative Democracy: Analyzing the Role of Political News Consumption in Developing Deliberative Sphere

Abstract

Deliberative theorists believe that political news is essential for the development of deliberative democracy. Political news is considered a central source of political information for the public which may provide them a ground to have more connected, interactive and effective role in political discussion environment. This endeavor aimed at examining relationship of political news consumption and political deliberation among a key group of voters during an election campaign in Pakistan. It explores the process by which political news consumption operate in a friends and family circles. A Cross sectional survey was used to collect data from the shopkeepers of Lahore during general elections 2013 in Pakistan. Sample of the voters was taken employing multistage purposive sampling technique. Data analysis was done using multiple regression analysis to gauge the variance shared by the political news and political deliberation. Results provide an exploratory understanding of relationship between political news consumption and political deliberation.