Humans face a wide range of environmental issues, many of which are characterized by scientific uncertainty and values disagreement. One promising approach to solving these issues is deliberative democracy, a model of democratic decision making in which all those affected by a decision share their positions on it with one another and work toward a consensus. However, scholars and practitioners of deliberative democracy have largely overlooked nonhuman animals, ecosystems, and other nonhuman stakeholders affected by environmental issues and decisions about them. This dissertation uses the perspectives of environmental sociology, education, and policy to look closely at how deliberative democracy can include nonhuman stakeholders and what happens when it does. First, it theorizes multispecies communicative democracy (MCD), a theory of deliberative democracy that includes nonhuman stakeholders through direct participation and proxy representation, and applies the theory to the environmental issue of deer-human conflict. Second, it analyzes the social and educational factors influencing US American adults' support for MCD, as well as adults' own explanations of their support. Third, it uses action research to develop, implement, and analyze an MCD curriculum at a nature center. In closing, it highlights the implications of MCD for environmental sociology, policy, and education.
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