Savivalda Lietuvoje ir piliečių dalyvavimas: tikras, fasadinis ar oligarchinis?

Abstract

Motivated by the work of Charles Woolfson, who diagnoses a "double failure of voice in contemporary Lithuania - both of orderly institutionalised social dialogue between labour and capital, and of ongoing public protest" (Woolfson, 2011), the paper aims at exploring the possibilities for citizens' participation in the Lithuanian local governance institutions. Drawing on two theoretical concepts, the facade-building and the 'iron low of oligarchy', the study deals with instruments and degrees of participation as well as its challenges in local governance institutions. Based on these conceptual arguments, an explorative empirical study has been undertaken in order to explore participation opportunities offered by local governance in Lithuania. Three data sources have been used here: first, the Lithuanian law of local governance, the secondary results of electoral participation and observations of websites of 60 local governance institutions in Lithuania. The research methods were document analysis and artefact analysis. Empirical results suggest that local governance institutions in Lithuania offer several participation opportunities, especially electoral participation and participation via internet. However, only a limited usage of these participation possibilities can be obtained here. As most participation instruments refer to lower level participation, i.e. the information giving to the citizens or administering of complaints, the conclusion is that participation instruments provided by the Lithuanian local governance institutions serve mainly as façades of participation and do not encourage truly participation in policy-decisions

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