Participatory democracy for a better democracy?
concluded that government doesn’t care,
participatory democracy from this other
doesn’t know and doesn’t even explain how
angle: how can we make citizen perspectives
the present situation arose. Participatory
on their everyday lives relevant for ‘Big
democracy in terms of ‘action’ does not solve
Politics’, the higher level decision-making
this problem. Citizens will
networks that largely leave
continue to feel, for example,
citizens out of the loop?
that the measures chosen to
"Truly connecting
counter the economic crisis
with citizens
are something to be undergone
The values, experiences and ideas of citizens,
and suffered, and not a matter
as actors in
rooted in their everyday
of democratic decision-
democracy, and
that circulated among
making. We need to look long and deep at how a reconnect with citizens’ everyday lives could involve a reconnect
lives, articulated in stories
with the problems
citizens, now often appear
of democracy as
complexities of policymaking
disconnected from the
between those everyday lives
they experience
– to them, but also to political
and political decision-makers.
them, demands
stories currently often
Focusing on what citizens can
a change in this
appear to be little more than
status quo: in all
unhelpful and irrelevant to the
do to revitalise democracy seems like a good idea. But revitalisation of democracy
decision-makers. These
‘noises’ – utterances that are
their rootedness
policy process – and largely
engagement through action.
in the everyday,
so out of touch with the
Participatory democracy in
citizen ‘noises’
complexities of ‘Big Politics’
with politics through action,
need to become
with citizens as actors in
with action being a starting
audible as citizen
democracy, and with the
voices."
experience them, demands
demands more than citizen
terms of active engagement
point towards bigger issues and processes, could be
not worthy of a response,
are they. Truly connecting
problems of democracy as they
a potentially interesting
a change in this status quo:
extension of the concept
in all their rootedness in the
of participatory democracy. The question
everyday, citizen ‘noises’ need to become
then becomes: how can ‘Big Politics’ take
audible as citizen voices. Let participatory
the everyday into account? Let us consider
democracy be made part of the exploration