Conference Agenda

This presentation explores internal transformations of the self in the context of facilitated dialogue practices, drawing on the dialogical self theory and its further development into the concept of the democratic self. The theoretical framework builds primarily on Hermans’ work on Society in the Self (2018), Inner Democracy (2020), and the personalization of democracy in citizenship education (Hermans & Bartels, 2021). From this perspective, democracy is not only a societal or institutional arrangement but also an inner process, grounded in the capacity of individuals to host, negotiate, and coordinate multiple “I-positions” in a dialogical and non-dominating manner.

The empirical material is based on a dialogical training program developed by Kai Alhanen in Finland. The study employs participant observation and an auto-ethnographic approach, allowing close access to lived experiences within the training process. Special attention is given to subtle inner changes occurring during the dialogues, such as shifts in dominant and marginalized self-positions, the emergence of new dialogical voices, and increased tolerance for internal and external disagreement.

The analysis focuses on how facilitated dialogues enable participants to practice “polite confrontations,” understood as the capacity to remain in disagreement without polarization or inner closure. These practices appear to support the development of inner democracy by strengthening reflexivity, dialogical openness, and the ability to move between competing positions without suppressing them. The findings contribute to discussions in citizenship education, dialogical pedagogy, and democratic theory by showing how democratic capacities can be cultivated at the level of the self through structured dialogical learning environments.