Direct Citizen Participation Research Articles

Trust the People? Populism, Trust, and Support for Direct Democracy

Populism is commonly understood as a response to frustrations with the functioning of modern democracy, while the use of direct democratic mechanisms has been hailed as a remedy for the ailing of representative democracies. Indeed, populism’s emphasis on direct citizen participation in decision-making is tightly linked to its distrust of representative institutions and the political elite as the cornerstone of mediated representation. Trust, however, matters for any functioning democratic institutional arrangement, and we contend that its role warrants more attention when considering the viability of alternative modes of decision-making such as referendums, particularly in the nexus of populism–democracy. Using original public opinion surveys implemented in Argentina, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, we distinguish among different objects of trust—elites, institutions, “the people,” or the society at large. We also explore citizens’ levels of trust in these objects and their association with institutional designs of direct democracy. Our results offer preliminary insights into the importance of horizontal and vertical trust relationships in shaping procedural preferences for different configurations of direct democracy.

Challenges to participatory development: The Mongolian example

The aim of the study is to identify some barriers to strengthening direct citizen participation in Local Development Funds, a mechanism to involve local people at the decision-making level by evaluating public participation. The IAP2 Public Participation Spectrum, developed by the International Association for Public Participation was used in the study. This study will contribute to explaining citizens' participation level in LDF. The results may suggest potential legislative and structural changes for the fund and defining new community social worker roles in Mongolia. Furthermore, the results will clarify what actions are needed for sub-administrative units to increase citizens’ participation.

INCLUSION OF THE POPULATION IN SOLVING THE PROBLEMS OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY THROUGH POLITICAL PARTIES

Overcoming apathy, absenteeism and inattention of the population to problems of local importance is one of the most urgent tasks of the modern system of municipal government. The exclusion of the population from the process of implementing municipal power violates the constitutional essence of local self-government, on the basis of which citizens must independently resolve issues of local importance. The low level of citizens’ involvement can be overcome by political parties, which currently need to be incorporated into the changing system in a timely manner, turning into a modern mechanism for popularizing direct participation of citizens in the management of the local community.

Право граждан на местное самоуправление: проблемы толкования и реализации на современном этапе исторического развития России

The article is devoted to the analysis of the constitutional right of citizens to local self-government in the Russian Federation. The authors analyze various approaches of the Russian legislator to the interpretation and content of the concept of local selfgovernment over the past 30 years of the historical development of the state. Special attention is paid in the article to the analysis of the positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on certain issues of the realization of the right of citizens to local self-government. According to the results of the study, it is concluded that the constitutional right of citizens to local selfgovernment has changed significantly since its initial consolidation in the recent period of Russian history, effectively excluding the direct participation of citizens from the direct implementation of local self-government, which undoubtedly indicates a decrease in the level of direct democracy as the substantive basis of the constitutional guarantee of the right of citizens to local self-government in Russia.

Judicial people’s power: concepts, forms

It is emphasized that the concept of “judicial people’s power” defines a key aspect of the judicial system in democratic societies. This phenomenon reflects the fundamental idea that the judicial power, usually exercised by judges, should function under conditions of active influence and control of citizens, who are the main subjects of state power in a democratic system.
 It has been established that the study of judicial people’s power is of great importance for strengthening democracy, legal state formation and ensuring justice in modern societies. It promotes the development of effective mechanisms for the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens and ensures that the courts serve the interests of society, observing the principles of justice and equality before the law.
 It has been determined that judicial people’s power as a constitutional and legal phenomenon plays an important role in ensuring the openness, fairness and legitimacy of justice. It can be implemented through forms of direct and indirect participation of citizens in the exercise of judicial power.
 It is emphasized that the involvement of experts contributes to increasing trust in the judicial system, as court decisions are based on objective data and scientific conclusions. Experts help to avoid suspicion and influence of the parties on the legal process, which is important to ensure justice.
 It was noted that citizen participation in the development of laws and reforms of the judicial system helps to ensure that laws meet the needs and expectations of society. It contributes to increasing the legitimacy and adoption of court decisions by citizens, as they take an active part in the process of forming legal norms and principles. Citizen participation makes the judicial system more open and democratic, contributes to increasing trust in the courts and their work. In general, the participation of citizens in the development of laws and the discussion of reforms of the judicial system is an important mechanism for ensuring citizen participation in the formation of justice and the improvement of the judicial system as a whole. This process reflects the principle of popular sovereignty and supports the idea of democracy in society.
 In summary, judicial democracy is a principle based on the idea that judicial power, including the appointment of judges, decision-making and accountability before the law, should be subjectively controlled by citizens who are the bearers of democratic power in society. Judicial people’s power involves the participation of citizens in the formation and functioning of the judicial system, ensures the openness of judicial processes and the accountability of the judiciary to citizens and the law.

How young adults explain their intention to participate in online direct citizen participation

AbstractFacilitating direct citizen participation through online channels is considered as an opportunity for including harder to reach groups in participation. Because young adults (18‐25) are heavy internet users, this group is expected to be easier to include online. Evidence shows, however, that also in online direct participation young adults remain underrepresented. To better understand this discrepancy from the perspective of participants, this research asks how young adults explain their intention to participate online. Thematic analysis highlights that young adults' intention to participate in online direct participation can be explained through: (1) cause‐oriented participation, (2) the role of social (media) networks, (3) selective attention to cope with information overload, and (4) navigating misinformation and negativity. In the discussion section, this article considers how these explanations can inform government strategies for better including young adults in online direct participation.

The Problem with a Peremptory Challange – a Tool of Racial Discrimination Within American Jury Selection Process

Jury duty serves as one of the fundamental pillars of American democracy, for it encourages direct citizen participation. Yet, the process of selecting its members is characterised by a flaw in form of a peremptory challenge — a tool with considerable potential for abuse since it permits covert discrimination against members of visible minority groups. Despite not being a procedural right protected by the Constitution of the United States, peremptories have entered the canon of provisions thought to be necessary for preserving the fairness of trial due to their long history of employment in the legal system. In the late 1980s, the Supreme Court in Batson v. Kentucky ruled the exclusion of jurors solely on the basis of their race to be unconstitutional and established the first preventative procedural standard against dubious usage of peremptories in form of the Batson Rule. The effectiveness of the said standard remains questionable, for it did not successfully deal with racial discrimination during voir dire but only enabled to formally object to the questionable juror’s strike. This paper aims to put racial discrimination within the American jury system into a historical perspective, analyze the arguments of both the supporters and the opponents of further peremptory challenge usage and consider probable alternatives that might be implemented to successfully prevent discriminatory practices within the American jury selection process.

Blockchain and digital governance: Decentralization of decision making policy

AbstractBlockchain is gaining popularity as a potential solution for the decentralized management of public information. A number of interesting solutions have been proposed by independent developers around the world to promote blockchain as a promising platform to potentially accelerate democratic processes and achieve certain public values in reforming digital governance. This could be reflected in facilitating direct citizen participation in digital politics, promoting greater civic cooperation and engagement in political discussions, boosting the role of civic commentary and even collaborative decision‐making in e‐government. In this regard, the article critically elaborates on the potential of this technology to promote political dimensions of public sector reforms in a post‐positivist manner, resorting to the analysis of concrete e‐participation cases in a number of public areas where the potential has already been realized and the opinions of professional software developers who are currently engaged in building various blockchain‐driven data management solutions in the e‐government area. This paper identifies, debates, and draws on what benefits and risks public policy can yield from the implementation of blockchain governance.

Area-based initiatives and urban democracy

Area-based initiatives (ABIs) set out to improve livability and living conditions in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods by making use of extensive citizen participation. ABIs are often criticized for constituting a form of undemocratic tokenism; this creates the illusion that residents have a say over urban development because citizens are only given consultative power. This paper takes a different perspective. We follow the ‘systemic turn’ in democratic theory, which addresses how direct citizen participation can reduce problems of inclusion, communication, and collective action created by defects in representative democracy. We find evidence that our case, the Grønland-Tøyen ABI in Oslo, Norway, at its best, is able to include new, previously marginalized groups in formulating a collective will that eventually impact city government policy. We argue that these cases show the potential of ABIs to enhance government effectiveness, as the participatory process creates preferable solutions to those produced by city experts. We also argue that it is the narrow scope of the participation schemes, rather than the lack of power devolved to citizens, that limits the ABIs contribution to urban democracy. This hinders the ABI's ability to address social justice and puts the legitimacy of the participatory arrangements at risk.

THE RIGHT OF DIRECT PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS AND ITS FORMS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

The level of direct participation of citizens in the country is one of the important indicators of democracy. Countries in transition, such as Serbia, are facing a low level of trust in their governments and institutions, so this is the main reason why citizens are not interested in direct participation and why they do not believe that if they participated directly, they would not be able to change anything. The aim of this paper is to point out the possibilities of direct participation, which are recognized by law to citizens, at the level of local governments and to point out the obstacles they face, as well as what discourages citizens from direct participation. Examples of good practice are highlighted, bad examples are pointed out and solutions for improving the legislative procedure are proposed.

Theoretical and legal features of key institutions in Municipal Law

It has been established that the institutions of Municipal Law are the key elements of the studied branch of law. This is due to the fact that they are more clear, specific and homogeneous regulatory elements with regard to their subject matter, which allows making certain structural and substantive changes to them without affecting other components of the Municipal Law system. The division into institutes helps to group legal norms that are homogeneous in terms of subject matter and methods of regulation, which contributes to a clearer definition of the main directions of the regulatory impact of Municipal Law and ensures more meaningful and efficient regulation of relevant legal relations, as well as the internal integrity and autonomy of the Municipal Law system.
 The following are proposed to be classified as the institutions of Municipal Law: general principles of local self-government (constitutional and legal norms); guarantee of local self-government; exercise of power by the people through local self-government bodies; principles of organisation and operation of local self-government entities; local elections and referendums; various forms of direct participation of citizens in resolving local issues; territorial communities; executive bodies of village, town, city, district and city councils; village, town and city heads; institution of representative bodies of local self-government; communal property; local budget and local finance; responsibility of local self-government bodies and officials.
 It has been noted that the above-mentioned institutions of Municipal Law are not exhaustive, but they reveal the essence of the relevant branch of law in the most meaningful way. It has been emphasised that an important task of the legislator is to create appropriate legal and organisational conditions for ensuring high-quality and efficient functioning and interaction of all municipal law institutions.

Partycypacja obywatelska w procesach decyzyjnych samorządu gminnego

The first decade of the revived functioning of local self‑government in Poland was a time of constructing system solutions, setting up the structure of local self‑governing bodies, and defining the catalogue of public tasks carried out by these units. Both then and in the years that followed, tools were developed to enable direct citizen participation in the governance of their local community. This study aims to outline the process of developing the tools for direct management of the municipality – the basic unit of local government – by its inhabitants over the last thirty‑plus years and, therefore, to present the most important procedures and mechanisms for citizen co‑determination on the shape of their small homelands.

Direct Electability, Competence and Responsibility as the Basis for the Long-Term Development of Local Self-Government in Russia

The issues of legal regulation of local self-government in the Russian Federation have been the subjects of numerous studies and discussions for a long time, while their intensity and relevance not only does not decrease, but also increases from year to year. In many ways, this is due to the fact that over the 30-year period of modern Russian history, the legislation on local self-government and its law enforcement practice is characterized by an extreme degree of dynamism and uncertainty, which certainly affects the quality of organization and functioning of this level of public authority. The meeting of the Council for the Development of Local Self-Government under the President of the Russian Federation, held on April 20, 2023, once again showed the existence of issues and the need for the authorities to find the optimal model of regulatory regulation of municipal government and the extreme imperfection of the provisions of draft law No. 40361-8 “On the general principles of the organization of local self-government in a unified system of public power”, which undoubtedly causes the need for scientific understanding and development of relevant proposals. Based on the historical and legal analysis of the development of the provisions of federal legislation on local self-government, the established constitutional and legal judicial practice, the experience of direct professional activity in local self-government bodies, the Author concludes that the federal legislator over the past 30 years of the existence of local self-government in our state has not only failed to definitively determine the basic legal provisions of the foundations local self-government, constantly “ranking” them and changing them, but it also significantly modified the originally laid down constitutional and legal essence of local self-government as a form of direct participation of citizens in solving issues of the territory of their residence. In this regard, the Author of the study suggests several “fundamental” provisions that will allow us to return to the constitutional and legal format of local self-government, laid down in the early 1990s. It seems that taking into account and consolidating the proposed foundations in the formation of a promising legal regulation of local self-government within the framework of building a unified system of public authority in our state will not only eliminate obvious “excesses” in the current system of legal regulation, but also fully provide a basis for effective interaction of bodies of a unified system of public authority in the interests of the population of the relevant territory.

How Direct Citizen Participation Affects the Local Government Financial Condition: A Case of Participatory Budgeting in South Korea

In theory, direct citizen engagement in budgeting helps local governments reflect the citizens’ budget preferences more precisely, thereby enhancing citizen-government communication. However, the efficacies of budget participation remain ambiguous considering both its democratic values and the cost of deliberation. In this study, we test how direct citizen participation by means of participatory budgeting (PB) affects the financial condition of local governments. We use a sophisticated concept of financial condition that encompasses various abilities of local government. We measure the degree of citizen participation as the availability of institutional mechanisms associated with different levels of inclusiveness and authorities determined by South Korean local government ordinances of formal budget participation. Our empirical analysis based on South Korean local governments’ data between 2012 and 2019 reveals that a PB institution with higher participation level further worsens the local financial condition. The adverse effects are mostly identified in the mid-term and long-term financial conditions, whereas the short-term financial condition remains unaffected. The findings imply that direct participation in theory corrects mismatches between bureaucratic and citizen priorities, but, in practice, the citizens may inappropriately direct mid- and long-term oriented public investment and debt management.

THE ROLE OF ADVISORY BODIES IN THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SOCIAL AND HUMANITARIAN POLICY MECHANISMS IN UKRAINE

The article examines the role of advisory bodies in the democratization of social and humanitarian policy mechanisms in Ukraine. The article provides classification and differences of types of democracy and ways of democratization. It is noted that the democratization of mechanisms in the social and humanitarian sphere should become the basis for the development of an effective social and humanitarian policy, close to the demands of the population, able to take into account and express the interests of the person, community, and society as fully as possible. The assumption was put forward and proven that the nature of direct democracy is revealed in its functions - directions or types of direct manifestation of the will of the people, which mediate its content and forms by subjects, objects, methods, means of direct people's rule and other features. It was concluded that the current stage of democratic transformations in Ukraine requires strengthening the mechanisms of democratization of social and humanitarian policy through direct participation of citizens in socio-political processes, since the inefficiency of the main institutions of the political system is largely due to the lack of public control over their activities in the inter-election period and the limitation of political participation of citizens only through electoral processes. It is substantiated that the task of democratization of social and humanitarian policy requires the use of a whole set of mechanisms, namely: I. General mechanisms of democratization of state administration (social and humanitarian sphere as a subsystem of state administration); II. Special mechanisms for the democratization of social and humanitarian policy; III. Mechanisms of democratization of social and humanitarian policy at the local level. It is emphasized that the democratization of mechanisms of social and humanitarian policy is impossible without democratization of the entire political system, the main ones of which are: mechanisms of direct democracy; mechanisms of delegated democracy; mechanisms of citizen participation democracy.

Lokalna demokratija i oblici direktnog učešća građana u vlasti - primer Srbija

The subject of this paper is the institutions of direct democracy at the local level in Serbia, with the aim of analyzing valid solutions (de lege lata) and improving the legal framework (de lege ferenda). The author starts from the thesis that local democracy is an ambiguous and imprecise term. In a broader sense, it represents the right of citizens to participate in government at the local level. In a narrower sense, this term is used as a synonym for local self-government (decentralization) and direct participation of citizens in government. On the other hand, tradition, socio-economic assumptions, legal (normative) framework and political environment are factors that influence local democracy. Apart from the election of local government representatives (representative local democracy), the basic institutional channels of local democracy are forms of direct citizen participation of citizens in decision-making, such as referendum and people's initiative. The application of institutions of direct democracy can be one of the indicators of the level of development of local self-government and local democracy. In the Republic of Serbia, institutional mechanisms for direct citizen participation in local self-government have been created, such as referendums, citizens' initiatives, and assembly of citizens (zbor). In addition, citizens have the right to petition and publicly criticize the authorities, the right to be heard on the authorities' intentions and the right to be informed about and monitor the work of the authorities. The local referendum is enshrined in the Constitution and other institutions are regulated by legal provisions. The quality of these regulations improved after the adoption of the new Law on Referendums and People's Initiative (2021). However, in local self-government units, the scope of these institutions of direct democracy is very limited low. The practice of direct local democracy is very poor, although there is a long tradition of struggle for local self-government in the 19th century. Such a situation is a consequence of the party state that multiplies the centralized way of decision-making, which is manifested in limited participation of citizens in political processes, increasing distrust in political institutions and ineffective control of the authorities in local self-government units. The crisis of democracy also manifests itself in the fact that citizens are less and less interested in public policy. Based on empirical data, comparative experiences and legal standards, the author believes that the solution lies in reviving the application of direct democracy at the local level.

ТЕОРЕТИЧНІ АСПЕКТИ ФОРМУВАННЯ ТА РОЗВИТКУ ЦИФРОВОЇ ДЕМОКРАТІЇ В УКРАЇНІ

The article summarizes theoretical aspects of the formation and development of Digital Democracy in Ukraine. The main features of digital democracy are revealed: Digital Democracy assumes that most of its forms are based on the direct participation of citizens in democratic processes; it is characterized by the breadth of coverage of citizens, since everyone connected to the internet space can become a participant in certain democratic processes; one of the essential features of this democracy is its reliance on transparency, informing citizens; Digital Democracy makes the boundaries of individual and public spaces, civil society and state power moving, including the joint search for political solutions, which increases the legitimacy of the latter, etc. Forms of digital democracy can be classified on various grounds, for example, by the source of their origin: forms created by public law institutions in digital reality; forms of democracy in digital reality that have emerged within civil society itself. According to the model of functioning of Digital Democracy: these can be models with mechanisms for using state participation, or based only on civil society, or representing a certain symbiosis of the state and civil society. The content aspects of democratic procedures implemented in digital democracy are revealed: internet voting; network communication of citizens in the internet space; electronic collection of signatures under appeals, petitions, etc.; formation of civil society institutions in digital reality; online conducting of various campaigns, dissemination of political information, mobilization of internet users; online human rights activities; implementation of the controlling function of civil society over various spheres of public life, including state / Municipal Administration through the provision of public disclosure of information in the network (transparency of Information, its availability)and reporting requirements of government structures; implementation of the function of forcing government structures to make decisions produced by civil society, hence, a mixed model of direct and indirect forms of democracy through digital information and communication technologies.

ON THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: EXPERIENCE OF FUNCTIONING OF ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES IN THE CONDITIONS OF ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY

The article analyses the experience of the management structures of Ancient Greece using the example of the People’s Assembly, the Council of Five Hundred, and the courts of Athens. It is noted that the main feature of political communication in Attica was the direct participation of free citizens in solving problems that ensured the interests of the inhabitants of the polis. At the same time, the issue of the activity of the People’s Assembly, which had a wide range of legislative powers and effective levers of state control, was revealed. The activity of the Council of Five Hundred, which as a representation of the territorial communities of Attica concentrated in its hands part of the powers of the executive power and state control, was studied. The peculiarities of the work of the judicial system, which not only resolved property disputes of citizens, but also partially controlled the political life of the polis, were analysed. It is emphasized how important the birth of the institution of advocacy in the Athenian judicial system became, without which it is impossible to imagine justice in modern Europe. It was noted that the active involvement of free citizens in the work of the mentioned institutions, combined with the personnel rotation system, was supposed to prevent corruption and form the most effective and transparent system of government, with legal and moral legitimacy in the eyes of the free population of Athens. At the same time, it is emphasized that the mass involvement of citizens in administrative structures revealed a number of problems typical for both ancient times and modern Europe. Among them are issues of the professional competence of officials, the level of their civic consciousness, the ability to resist the influence of political technologies, etc. It is noted that the negative phenomena associated with the peculiarities of Athenian democracy were perceived by contemporaries and were lively discussed. This, in particular, is evidenced by monuments of oratory and works of ancient Greek drama. It is emphasized that in ancient Athens, scientific studies of the forms of state power were conducted. In particular, in Aristotle’s writings we find theoretical generalizations of state-building processes both in Ancient Greece in general and in Athens in particular. Some of them still have not lost their relevance. Among them is the problem of raising a conscious and comprehensively developed citizen, the idea of forming a qualified democracy and the importance of the middle class as a guarantee of an effective and stable society, protected from social and political upheavals.

Building the Political Structure for Direct Citizen Participation in a European Federation

Building the Political Structure for Direct Citizen Participation in a European Federation

Use of information and communication technologies in democratic processes

The article reveals the essence of information and communication technologies, gives scientific positions on the definition of the mentioned concept and examines the place of information and communication technologies in modern democratic processes. It was determined that modern information and communication technologies are the basis for the functioning of e-government and e-voting and other forms of e-democracy. The influence of information and communication technologies on the effectiveness of state policy is revealed, attention is focused on the importance of effective cooperation between authorities and civil society thanks to state-of-the-art electronic resources and the Internet. In addition, the possibilities of direct participation of citizens in the management of state and non-state structures are identified. In the conclusions, the factors that hinder (make impossible) the implementation of information and communication technologies in the sphere of public administration or make it impossible at all are pointed out, on the basis of which the prospects of realizing the potential for modernization in a modern democratic society based on the principles of openness and feedback are analyzed.