Democratic Crisis and the Rise of Participatory Institutions

• In Event: Renovating and Reimagining Local Democracy amidst National Retrenchment

Abstract

This paper dives more deeply into the commonly referenced statement regarding the simultaneous expansion of participatory institutions alongside the failure or backsliding of representative democracy that defines the 21st Century. Scholars of participatory democracy tend to briefly take note of this phenomenon, then move on to an analysis of participatory institutions. Scholars of (representative) “democracy” often overlook this connection completely. This paper explores the concurrent events, arguing that these patterns are not random or isolated, but rather part and parcel of the nature of democracy broadly. The paper also argues that the nationalist framework within which most scholars and media outlets work means that this interrelationship is often overlooked. The paper first outlines the history of the concept and practice of participatory democracy, noting that it tends to become more prevalent in theory and practice during times of major transformations. Then, it traces the contemporary rise of participatory institutions to the political and economic transformations that occurred at the turn of the 20th Century. Using examples from the Americas and Europe, the paper encourages readers to think more expansively and systematically about one of the most common suppositions for scholars of participatory democracy and participatory institutions (e.g., the crisis of representative democracy).

Author

• Stephanie McNulty, Franklin and Marshall College