Participative Democracy

Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected representatives. Elements of direct and representative democracy are combined in this model.

Overview

Participatory democracy is a type of democracy, which is itself a form of government. The term "democracy" is derived from the Greek expression (dēmokratia) ''(δῆμος/ dēmos'': people, ''Κράτος/ kratos'': rule). It has two main subtypes, direct and representative democracy. In the former, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation; in the latter, they choose governing officials to do so. While direct democracy was the original concept, its representative version is the most widespread today.

Public participation, in this context, is the inclusion of the public in the activities of a polity. It can be any process that directly engages the public in decision-making and gives consideration to its input. The extent to which political participation should be considered necessary or appropriate is under debate in political philosophy.

Participatory democracy is primarily concerned with ensuring that citizens have the opportunity to be involved in decision-making on matters that affect their lives.De Vos et al (2014) South African Constitutional Law – In Context: Oxford University Press It is not a new concept and has existed in various forms since the Athenian democracy. Its modern theory was developed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the 18th century and later promoted by John Stuart. Mill and G. D. H. Cole, who argued that political participation is indispensable for a just society. In the early 21st century, participatory democracy has been more widely studied and experimented with, leading to various institutional reform ideas such as participatory budgeting.

History

Origins in Ancient Greece

Democracy in general first appeared in the city-state of Athens during classical antiquity. It was first established under Cleisthenes in 508–507 BC. This was a direct democracy, in which ordinary citizens were randomly selected to fill government administrative and judicial offices, and there was a legislative assembly consisting of all Athenian citizens. However, Athenian citizenship excluded women, slaves, foreigners (μέτοικοι/''métoikoi'') and youths below the age of military service. Athenian democracy was the most direct in history as the people controlled the entire political process through the assembly, the boule and the courts, and a large proportion of citizens were involved constantly in public matters.

During the 19th and 20th centuries

The Paris Commune and its influences

In the late 19th century a small number of thinkers, including Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Oscar Wilde began advocating for participatory democracy. Marx and Engels in particular were influenced by the short-lived social democracy the French revolutionary government known as the Paris Commune introduced in 1871. During the 20th century, practical implementations began to take place, mostly on a small scale, attracting considerable academic attention in the 1980s.

During the Spanish Civil War

During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) the parts of Spain controlled by anarchist members of the Republican faction were governed almost completely by participatory democracy. The philosopher Simone Weil, who had been a soldier on the side of the anarchists, later wrote a political manifesto titled '' The Need for Roots'' promoting participatory democracy.

In the United States during the second half of the 20th century

In the 1960s, US national student activist organisation Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was organised around the principles of participatory democracy. In the 1980s, participatory democracy became more widely researched, first by Professor James S. Fishkin, who also introduced the concept of the deliberative opinion poll.

In 1996, the Texas government commissioned a deliberative opinion poll to gage citizens' willingness to pursue alternative sources of energy. First, a raw opinion poll was taken, then a representative sample of citizens was provided with briefing books and invited to deliberate with moderating. Following a weekend of deliberation, the participants developed opinions that significantly diverged from their ones: beforehand, 52% of participants supported a $2–5 increase on monthly invoices in exchange for renewable energy. By the end of the experiment, support increased to 84%. The results of the poll heavily influenced the actions of the Texan government and electric power industry. While in 1996, the state was only the 49th largest producer of renewable energy in the United States, as of 2021, it leads the country in the production of wind power.

Other international experiments

Other experiments in participatory democracy took place in various cities around the world. As one of the earliest examples, Porto Alegre, Brazil adapted a system of participatory budgeting in 1989. A World Bank study found that participatory democracy in these cities seemed to result in considerable improvement in the quality of life for residents.

In the 21st century

In the early 21st century, experiments in participatory democracy began to spread throughout South and North America, China, and across the European Union. In a US example, the plans to rebuild New Orleans