Linking democratic preferences and political participation: evidence from Germany

An extensive body of literature discusses the disaffection of citizens with representative democracy and highlights increasing citizens’ preferences for political decision-makers beyond elected politicians. But so far, little research has been conducted to analyse the relations between citizens’ respective preferences and their political behaviour. To address this void in the literature, our article investigates the extent to which citizens’ preferences for certain political decision-makers (politicians, citizens or expert) have an impact on their retrospective and prospective political participation. Our analysis draws on data from a survey conducted in autumn of 2014 on a probability representative sample in Germany. Results indicate that respondents favouring politicians as decision-makers focus mainly on voting. Those who favour citizens as decision-makers are more willing to get involved in participatory procedures, while those inclined towards expert decision-making show mixed participation

How Participation Creates Citizens: Participatory Governance as Performative Practice

Participation is a prominent feature of many decision-making and planning processes. Among its proclaimed benefits is its potential to strengthen public support and involvement. However, participation is also known for having unintended consequences which lead to failures in meeting its objectives. This article takes a critical perspective on participation by discussing how participation may influence the ways in which citizens can become involved. Participation unavoidably involves (1) restrictions about who should be involved and about the space for negotiation, (2) assumptions about what the issue at stake is, and (3) expectations about what the outcome of participation should be and how the participants are expected to behave. This is illustrated by a case study about the Dutch nature area, the Drentsche Aa. The case study demonstrates how the participatory process that took place and the restrictions, assumptions, and expectations that were involved resulted in six forms of citizen involvement, both intended and unintended, which ranged between creativity, passivity, and entrenchment. Based on these findings, the article argues that participation does not merely serve as a neutral place in which citizens are represented, but instead creates different categories of citizens. Recognizing this means reconceiving participation as performative practice. Such a perspective goes beyond overly optimistic views of participation as a technique whose application can be perfected, as well as pessimistic views of participation as repression or domination. Instead, it appreciates both intended and unintended forms of citizen involvement as meaningful and legitimate, and recognizes citizenship as being constituted in interaction in the context of participatio

Education Facts

Includes statistics and information on: * education increases civic participation* more learning results in more earnings* education moves citizens from welfare recipients to productive citizens* education lowers crime costs* education lowers health care cost

European Citizens’ Panel on the future of Europe Bertelsmann Stiftung Evaluation Report

New forms of democratic participation are gaining ground rapidly. Many EU Member States have reacted to their citizens’ increasing demands for participation. There are more and more new ways to participate in political discussions and decision-making on both local and national level. By participating in the European Citizens’ Initiative, online consultations by the Commission, or European Citizens’ Dialogues, EU citizens can also take an active part in policymaking at the European level. A wide range of different citizens’ consultations began in EU Member States in spring 2018 on the instigation of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, with the support of the other European heads of state and government and the European Commission. With European Parliament elections coming up in May 2019, this has prompted a transnational discussion about the future of the EU. As part of this debate, the Citizens’ Panel on the future of Europe, which was organised by the Commission and took place from 4 – 6 May 2018 (5 May: Europe Day), brought together 100 citizens from all EU27 Member States to discuss the future of Europe. Kantar, a service provider in the field of market research, working together with different organisations in the field of participation, was assigned with the the organisation and facilitation of the process. For example, participants from all over Europe were selected at random in order to represent the diversity of Europe and its citizens. The Bertelsmann Stiftung acted as an academic partner and was responsible for evaluating the event. The aim of the Citizens’ Panel was to develop 12 questions for an online survey on the future of Europe – created by EU citizens for EU citizens. Open and closed questions were combined in such a way that citizens could complete the questionnaire quickly and easily. The online survey was launched in all EU languages on 6 May 2018. Initial results are scheduled for discussion by heads of state and government in December 2018. A definitive report will be submitted on 9 May 2019 during the EU27 Summit in Sibiu, Romania

More Initiative for Europe’s Citizens. Bertelsmann Policy Brief 02.2018

The European citizens’ initiative is being reformed – and that’s a good thing. To date, the media have hardly reported on this young participation instrument. But if the citizens’ initiative is to have any impact in Brussels, it needs more public awareness

Social participation in the aspect of a smart city development

Advanced technologies are entering citizens’ lives, which can be noticed at every turn. Society is becoming increasingly involved in building, creating and planning a city, district or the nearest place of residence. The quality of the functioning of the local community and the quality of life depend, to a large extent, on the level of social participation. The aim of social participation is to establish a mechanism for meeting citizens’ needs, and to achieve citizens’ acceptance of the authorities’ actions. Modern communication techniques greatly facilitate the expression of public opinion and public awareness in this regard has been on the rise. A growing number of new forms of communication using modern technologies are being developed all the time. The aim of the study is to analyse the forms of social participation in the city life, inter alia spending financial resources on its development. Attention is also drawn to the most recent ways in which the authorities communicate with the public in order for the latter to express their opinions on the former’s actions. Practical research was conducted for the city of Olsztyn located in the north-eastern part of Poland. Social activity forms were analysed, including those carried out using ICT technologies. The research shows that access to modern technologies facilitates contact between the city authorities and citizens, which ensures that the policy under implementation is kept in line with citizens’ expectations

Paving the Path for Citizen Participation in Infrastructure Projects. Einwurf Future of Democracy 1/2015

As Germany is facing enormous infrastructural challenges, citizens want to have a say and know what will be build and why. If Germany's infrastructure-renewal efforts are to succeed, politicians and public administration needs to find new ways to get citizens fully involved in decision-making processes. To improve participation in practice, there must be a major push toward professionalization, as projects planned without consideration for or input from citizens will fail

Conference Talk. Bertelsmann Policy Brief 04.2019

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a two-year Conference on the Future of Europe. Even citizens ought to participate. But how? In order to make participatory democracy a reality, it is essential to avoid only paying lip-service to the idea of participation — and give citizens a real say

e-Participation in Austria: Trends and Public Policies

The paper is a first step to assess the status of e-participation within the political system in Austria. It takes a top-down perspective focusing on the policy framework related to citizens´ rights in the digital environment, the role of public participation and public policies on e-participation in Austria. The analysis of the development of e-participation in Austria as well as of social and political trends regarding civic participation in general and its electronic embedding, show a remarkable recent increase of e-participation projects and related initiatives. The paper identifies main institutional actors actively dealing with or promoting e-participation and reviews government initiatives as well as relevant policy documents specifically addressing and relating to e-participation or e-democracy. Finally, it takes a look at the state of the evaluation of e-participation. A major conclusion is that e-participation has become a subject of public policies in Austria; however, the recent upswing of supportive initiatives for public participation and e-participation goes together with ambivalent attitudes among politicians and administration towards e-participation.e-participation, e-democracy, citizens´ rights, institutional actors, public policies, government initiatives, evaluation