How can we end a deliberation? What is the concrete result that a deliberative forum may address to the institutions and the public? The deliberative theory is not clear on this issue, while the practice tends to switch between different solutions. In principle, the conclusion of a deliberation should meet two criteria: faithfulness and straightforwardness. Since these criteria are contradictory, practical experiences tend to favour one of them. Through the analysis of the most diffused practices, the paper considers four types of conclusions, two of them point mostly on fidelity (the "mirror conclusions") and two on straightforwardness (the "proposal conclusions"). The strengths and weaknesses of these four types of conclusion are then evaluated.
Deliberative theory; Conclusion of deliberative process; Citizen's juries; Social participation