Atomsfär, emotioner och gester : relationalitet och inre exclusion i utskottsarbete i Finland riksdag

Authors

• Maria Svanström

Abstract

In the article the role of talk in committees in the Finnish Parliament is analysed. Attention is paid to relations among committee members, between committee members and experts being heard by the committees, and between committee members and voters. The aim is to describe how Finnish representatives experience the present culture of discussion in committees and to analyse the consequences of discussion-related, relational practices for democracy. In all, 17 interviews, mainly with political representatives, are analysed. The conclusion is that the government proposals and the governmental parties being represented in committees still have a very strong influence on the decision making in committees. However, dialogical practices are both carried on and appreciated by the committee members. Differing opinions can be freely expressed and the importance of taking others into account, as well as the ability to listen, is highlighted. Results also show that the discussion in committees is not only affected by rational arguments, but also by non-verbal communication that should be taken into account when democracy is analysed in terms of deliberation.