In democracies, citizens’ interests and needs should be the focus of every political decision-making process at all different governance levels. It is the heart of democracy that citizens’ concerns are the basis for change. Participatory processes allow exactly for that– they give citizens the possibility to take part in decision-making and to give impulse for change.
There are different levels of participatory democracy practices (information, consultation, dialogue and partnership) and many different models to organise participation Be it a user-friendly interactive municipality homepage, a consultation platform, a Participatory Budgeting initiative or a Citizens Assembly, the aim is always to engage citizens or civil society actors in local, regional, or national decision-making processes on issues that affect their daily life.
Political and public participation is crucial to democratic governance, the rule of law, social inclusion and economic development, and the advancement of all human rights. Participation rights are important in empowering individuals and groups, which is essential to eliminate marginalization and discrimination. These rights are also inseparably linked to other human rights such as the rights to peaceful assembly and association, freedom of opinion and expression and the rights to education and to information.
Participatory democracy must be characterized by four key principles—accountability, transparency, participation, and inclusion. Democracy and human rights practitioners generally embrace an explicitly political understanding of the four concepts and fear technocratic or purely instrumentalist approaches. Governance specialists often follow a narrower approach, applying the core principles primarily to the quest for greater public sector effectiveness. It is important that participatory democracy is approached through a political understanding.