Deepening democracy
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This presentation considered the following questions: How and why do people participate? How ready and willing are citizens to engage in democracy, and why? What does this mean for representative, deliberative and participatory democracy? Discussions of different models of democracy often fail to consider what involvement citizens say they want, and if, how and why they are willing to participate. Any form of democracy is shallow without the active participation of citizens. If democracy is to be deepened, it is important that we understand where citizens are now, including what starts and stops them taking a more active role in democracy. As citizens have become more disillusioned with their elected representatives, the vast majority have not been calling out to participate in other ways. The Hansard Society’s ninth Audit of Political Engagement found satisfaction with the system of governing to be at its lowest level since the Audit began in 2004, but also found frequency of discussing politics and signing a petition to also be at an all time low, while the proportion of citizens who say they would like to be very involved or fairly involved in national decision making had declined from 42% to 33% since the previous audit. Involve, NCVO and IVR’s Pathways through Participation research explored people’s experiences and perceptions of participation, how and why they participate and what the barriers are to increased active citizenship. This paper will explore the lessons from this and other research and argue that a combination of representative, participatory and deliberative democracy, underpinned by a number of principles, offer the best way of engaging citizens and deepening democracy.
Transcript of Deepening democracy
How and why does participation begin and continue?
Research questions
Can trends and patterns of participation be identified over time?
What connections, if any, are there between different forms and episodes of participation and what triggers movement between them?
Approach
3 field work areas:
LeedsEnfieldSuffolk
Individual at the heart
Qualitative research
101 in-depth interviews
Participation as ‘situated practice’
Stakeholder engagement
Life stories
What is participation?Social participation: the collective activities that individuals are involved in
Public participation: the engagement of individuals with the various structures and institutions of democracy
Individual participation: people’s individual actions and choices that reflect the kind of society they want to live in
The factors that shape participationIndividual motivations and resources
Relationships and social networks
Groups and organisations
Local environment and place
Wider societal and global influences
What is participation?
Common features:VoluntaryAbout actionCollective or connectedPurposeful
Perceptions of participation are contradictory
Participation impacts on people and places
Conflict and tension are an integral part of participation
Participation is widespread
Why participation starts
An emotional reactionA personal life eventAn external influence
Practical resources
Learnt resourcesFelt resources
Groups and organisationsLocal environment and
place
Helping othersDeveloping relationshipsExercising values &
beliefsHaving influenceFor personal benefitBeing part of something
Why participation continues or stops
Engagement in democracy
The language and image
The accessibilityThe practice
Language and image
Perceptions of activities were important
Perceptions of the political system
But perceptions can be overcome
Not ‘political’
Voting a ‘civic duty’
Safe seats discourage political participation
Politicians seen as self-serving
Positive opinions of particular political representatives
Low levels of trust and confidence
Practice
Opportunities to participate
Negative experiences of public consultations
Perceptions of impact
No examples of public bodies proactively engaging with people
Examples of bringing about change through lobbying
Tokenistic and/or repetitious
Decision already made
People wanted to see the impact of their participation
Tension between motivation of citizens and needs of public bodies
Accessibility
Opportunities to participate
People’s resources
Relationships and groups
Need to complement people’s lives
Need to respond to their needs motivations and expectations
A lack of resources stop people from participating
Sometimes due to systemic inequalities
Groups important source of public participation
Relationships can determine success of participation
Pay attention to accessibility and inclusivity.
See participation as a point along a journey for citizens.
People do not think in terms of process or activity, they think in terms of experience, impact, values and beliefs, and concerns, needs and wants.
Implications for democratic reform
Social
Personal Meaningful
Create opportunities for involvement that are:
