The Democratic Foundation of Resilience Governance: The Institutional Construction of Digital Deliberative Democracy in Community Resilience Governance

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Article Type: Research Article
Issue: Vol. 2 No. 2 (2026): In Progress
Published: 19 April 2026
Pages: 15-29

How to Cite

Zhou, Q., & Zhang, J. (2026). The Democratic Foundation of Resilience Governance: The Institutional Construction of Digital Deliberative Democracy in Community Resilience Governance. Crisis and Resilience, 2(2), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.65773/cr.2.2.142

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Authors

Qiancheng Zhou 1 * , 
Jie Zhang 2
1 School of Public Administration, Jilin University, Changchun, China
2 School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China

Abstract

As a digital manifestation of grassroots deliberative democracy, digital deliberative democracy serves as a pivotal institutional framework for strengthening the democratic foundation of community resilience governance, effectively addressing its comprehensive governance needs. Employing qualitative research methods and drawing on theories of deliberative democracy and resilience governance, this study focuses on the institutional development of digital deliberative democracy within community resilience frameworks. Based on criteria such as operational logic, stakeholder composition, functional roles, and governance contexts, community digital deliberative democracy is categorized into three forms: institutionalized procedural digital deliberation, open public digital deliberation, and community-based layered digital deliberation, with systematic analysis of their distinct functions: institutionalized deliberation solidifies the foundational mechanisms of community resilience; open deliberation establishes risk early-prevention systems and public opinion integration mechanisms; while layered deliberation enhances emergency response capabilities and social rehabilitation capacities at the grassroots level. These three approaches collectively form a holistic resilience-enhancing ecosystem. The study proposes a developmental pathway for institutionalizing digital deliberative democracy in community resilience governance across four dimensions: institutional norms, platform integration, participation mechanisms, and sustainable safeguards. This work enriches the theoretical framework of grassroots digital democracy and resilience governance, providing a theoretical reference for advancing grassroots democratic development, optimizing governance structures, and promoting modernized governance practices.

Keywords:
resilient governance, deliberative democracy, digital deliberation, community governance, institutional construction

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