Deliberative Innovation According to the Decision-Makers - (International Studies in Sociology and Social Anthropology) by Joanna Podgórska-Rykala

About the Book

The book makes a unique empirical contribution to the field of democratic theory and practice by revealing how decision-makers evaluate deliberative innovations involving ordinary citizens, and the value they place on them in the decision-making process. This approach contributes to the identification of opportunities to better conceptualise innovations in the future, to make them more effective and more suitable for the system of representative institutions.

Book Synopsis

Have you ever wondered why politicians reach for democratic innovations? How do they evaluate deliberative practices involving ordinary citizens and what political value do they ascribe to them? Do they want to put citizens' perspectives at the centre of decision-making processes in the face of a growing crisis of representative democracy, or are their motivations more nuanced and instrumental? This book is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in the future of democracy, using unique data from in-depth interviews with local politicians to explore decision-makers' attitudes towards deliberative innovation and propose some truly effective ways to design it in relation to traditional representative institutions.