The essential and inherent democratic capacities of communities

Abstract

Despite the rise of many new forms of public participation, citizens often find themselves on the sidelines of civic initiatives. Observing that nascent democratic capacities are an under-used resource for community development, this article explores how widely applied understandings of capacity building fail to recognize the democratic capacities of communities. By exploring notions of capacity that span the fields of community development and civic engagement, this discussion argues that both fields can improve their ability to address complex public problems by paying close attention to the inherent democratic capacities of a community’s citizens, organizations, and networks. It suggests a framework for recognizing and analyzing these democratic capacities. An overlapping “democratic practices” framework is presented as a way to analyze how communities apply their democratic capacities. The article concludes with case studies from Cooperative Extension that illustrate how citizen-centered community development and civic engagement grounded in public deliberation and dialog can build on and strengthen the democratic capacities of communities.