Abstract
This article traces the development of the Domestic Policy Association from early concerns about public deliberation in the aftermath of Vietnam, Watergate, and declining trust in government to the first Presidential Library Conference on the Public and Public Policy in 1983. It describes the role of David Mathews, educational institutions, civic organizations, the National Consortium for Public Policy Education, the Johnson Foundation, the Public Agenda Foundation, and the Kettering Foundation in shaping a national network for public policy education. The article explains how the National Issues Forum emerged as a grassroots, non-advocacy model for informed public discussion of domestic issues, including inflation, jobs and productivity, and Social Security and retirement. It emphasizes the use of accessible discussion materials, local forums, media support, and mechanisms for communicating citizen judgments to policymakers. The article presents the Domestic Policy Association as an effort to renew democratic self-education by linking citizen deliberation with national policy discussion.
Recommended Citation
Hagood, Annabel Dunham
(1985)
"Full Circle: The Domestic Policy Association,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 51, Article 24.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol51/iss1/24
