Broadly defined, deliberative democracy aspires the decision-making legitimacy by deliberation of equal citizens. As a response
to the growing discontent with the representational governance, the normative and empirical development of the deliberative
democracy theory addresses the increasing desiderata of public engagement beyond party politics and constituencies. Generating
knowledge for the use of policy-making, foresight shares a common ground of participative and policy-impacting challenges
with the deliberative democracy theory. In this article the prospects and mutual advantages of deliberative democracy (DD)
alliance with the field of futures studies are discussed. The exploration strives to accentuate the societal policy-making advantages
of the cross-disciplinary development. The article begins with introducing the deliberative democracy theory and the
theoretical development, following with an account of some encouraging deliberative practices. A brief sketch of two recent
projects enhancing participation detail the discrepancies in defining the concept. After examining the common epistemic ground
of futures studies and social studies, the cross-disciplinary interface and shared key elements in policy-making impact are
described. The article proposes a multi-voiced and future-oriented dialogue as a prerequisite for ameliorating societal preparedness
and resilience in a world marked by proliferating uncertainty.

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• Deliberative future visioning: utilizing the deliberative democracy theory and practice in futures research