The act of deliberation is the act of reflecting carefully on a matter and weighing the strengths and weaknesses
of alternative solutions to a problem. It aims to arrive at a decision or judgment based not only on facts and
data but also on values, emotions, and other less technical considerations. Though a solitary individual can deliberate,
it more commonly means making decisions together, as a small group, an organization, or a nation. Political Communication
and Deliberation takes a unique approach to the field of political communication by viewing key concepts and research
through the lens of deliberative democratic theory. This is the first text to argue that communication is central
to democratic self-governance primarily because of its potential to facilitate public deliberation. Thus, it offers
political communication instructors a new perspective on familiar topics, and it provides those teaching courses
on political deliberation with their first central textbook. This text offers students practical theory and experience,
teaching them skills and giving them a more direct understanding of the various subtopics in public communication.