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Expanding citizen participation

Creating democratic surplus through citizens' assemblies (pdf 150kb)

This article is a contribution to the discussion about promoting more inclusive government. It introduces and explains the value of deliberative democracy in which there is room for strong engagement by the people.

It argues that a democratically elected government should provide its citizens with the right to continuously participate in decision-making after and between elections. It also explains why it is important to provide opportunities for all citizens to participate in decisions about issues that directly affect them and gives some contemporary examples of how governments creating 'invited space' for citizens to participate in deliberation as well as an example of how citizens them selves are 'insisting on space' to ensure that they do participate.

 

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