For us, the publishers and staff of this magazine, Participatory democracy is a process emphasizing the broad participation (decision making) of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems. While etymological roots imply that any democracy would rely on the participation of its citizens (the Greek demos and kratos combine to suggest that "the people rule"), traditional representative democracies tend to limit citizen participation to voting, leaving actual governance to politicians. Participatory democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a political group to make meaningful contributions to decision-making, and seeks to broaden the range of people who have access to such opportunities.
Representative democracy is not generally considered participatory but it tends to evolve by adopting participatory mechanisms and tools.
Participatory vs representative democracy
by Tina Trumbach
The recent focus on District Councils has raised for us the central difference between two forms of democracy – participatory and representative.
District Councils can be seen as a form of participatory, or direct, democracy that brings greater decision making power directly to the people themselves.
Participatory democracy can be defined as a form of government which emphasises the broad participation of constituents in political systems and which creates opportunities for all members of a population to make contributions to decision-making.
Participatory democracy tends to advocate more direct forms of citizen participation and greater political representation than traditional representative democracy.
Representative democracy is the predominant form of democracy, and is founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people. All modern Western-style democracies are types of representative democracies – including the USA and the United Kingdom.
- Hits: 4353