In this article, we shed light on selected aspects of (non)deliberation drawing on a sample of 525 statements from the Slovenian Parliament made during discussions on the proposed Family Act between 2009 and 2011. Applying a conceptually refined Discourse Quality Index (DQI), we explore the following deliberative standards: participation of actors, argumentation of claims presented within the discussions, and (dis)respect. The results show a relatively low level of deliberation in terms of most of the DQI standards. In addition to the relatively high share of statements without argument and disrespect, consistent differences can be observed according to the gender of the speakers, their (non)support of the Family Act, and the fact of whether they were a spokesperson for a political group, civil society or the government.
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