Introduction to Special Issue by Roberto Falanga, Inês Campos and Doris Fuchs: “Worldwide, the growth of citizen distrust towards political institutions presents unprecedented challenges to representative democracy (Butzlaff and Messinger-Zimmer ; Vasilopolou et al. ; Wood). In recent decades, increasing disenfranchisement with standard avenues of political participation has prompted decision-makers and civil society organisations to experiment with new democratic practices aimed at empowering citizens in democratic policy and decision-making (Fung and Wright). Guided by theories of participatory and deliberative democracy, different countries, regions, and cities across the globe have developed innovative approaches, offering multiple channels of direct and indirect dialogue with elected representatives. The production of knowledge around such practices in different political contexts has gained significant traction over the last few years, and the multiplication of research outputs has certainly helped advance our understanding of democratic innovations (DIs hereafter).
The concept of DIs seeks to capture and make sense of participatory and deliberative practices that have spread significantly in Europe and beyond. As Saward early put it: ‘The phrase ‘democratic innovation’ expresses a critical commitment to democratic values of popular participation and political equality, allied to an urgent imperative for theorists to articulate and analyse new solutions to the problems of democracy’ (ibid.: 4). By offering a broad interpretation of innovation, Saward invites us to examine novel perspectives of politics and democracy. Rather than a fixed set of practices, emphasis was put on the ongoing effort to develop both the theoretical ideals and practical forms of democracy. Innovative forms of deliberation, representation, and association should therefore facilitate the expansion of democracy in response to current challenges. In an attempt to cement the concept through knowledge of real-life experiments, Smith defined DIs as the ‘institutions that have been specifically designed to increase and deepen citizen participation in the political decision-making process’ (ibid.: 1). By doing so, DIs emphasise the inclusion of citizens in decision-making processes related to policy and law-making, through mechanisms such as popular assemblies, mini-publics, participatory budgeting, direct legislation, and e-democracy…(More)”
