New forms of citizen participation : normative implications

In most Western societies, the declining interest among citizens in joining political parties and becoming involved in their local communities has been identified as a potential risk to political systems. As a remedy, various new forms of participatory initiatives have been established. Some of the new forms of participation have been developed by the citizens themselves, trying to get their voices better heard in the political process. Other forms have been initiated by the leaders from above, who seek to improve the legitimacy of the political institutions. New Forms of Citizen Participation contains contributions by European scholars addressing a number of normatively relevant issues. What are the problems that the political reforms are supposed to solve? Do they actually contribute to increased political engagement and participation at a more general level? The book consists of both theoretical reflections and a number of more empirically-related contributions.