Participatory Democracy

Liberal democracy is defined by free and fair elections, universal suffrage, rule of law, and protection of individual rights. Public participation is often limited to voting or nonbinding public hearings, rather than agenda setting and decision making—particularly in environmental policy, where scientific and technical expertise is often necessary to comprehend the issues as framed by professionals and policymakers. Perhaps as a result, the social, health, economic, and other costs associated with environmental degradation have been disproportionately concentrated among those who are least represented among decision makers: the poor and people of color.

Participatory democracy, in contrast, is characterized by engagement in civil discourse to develop consensus on policies that meet the needs, values, and priorities of diverse citizens. Through persistent engagement, participants gain a greater appreciation for the potential implications of policy choices. Thus, individual freedoms may be better balanced with the associated ecological, health, social, and economic costs.

The common understanding of “democracy” as a political system in which citizens have the right to select representatives through regular, fair, popular elections and wherein decisions are made by “majority rule” reflects liberal democracy. Liberal democracy is defined by the protection of individual rights through representation and juridic order. Government is “utilitarian” its primary role is to minimize barriers to individual freedom and to ensure the greatest aggregate good. Liberal democracy is, therefore, consistent with market capitalism, and global democratization efforts predicated on this model equate conversion to a market economic system with democratic transformation. Economic reform precedes democratization on the presumption that increased economic security and resulting access to education will foster a better informed citizenry that is prepared to engage effectively in the democratic process.

Observers note, however, that in nations where economic reform precedes democratization, political engagement becomes the specialized purview of the wealthy and formally educated. These concerns are addressed through voter registration and “get out the vote” campaigns and public hearings on legislative initiatives, the results of which are seldom binding on decision makers, who ultimately determine which concerns and values to reflect in policy. Moreover, those who share the values and backgrounds of political leaders are most likely to participate and least likely to challenge their rationale.

[Page 306]In the realm of environmental policy, in particular, issues are often framed in highly technical terms. Thus, extensive education or professional expertise may be necessary to participate effectively in the debate as defined by professional resource managers and policymakers, despite the existence of myriad human values and concerns surrounding nature and natural resources, creating critical questions regarding the inherent rights of citizenship and the role of technocrats versus citizens in defining acceptable solutions. Public participation has often been defined in terms of the professionals' interests, such as to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness or to reduce public resistance. These “instrumental participation” strategies can create the appearance of democratic process without either genuine inclusion of local values, needs, and interests, or building community capacity toward self-determination and independence.

Participatory democracy seeks to balance individual freedoms with the societal responsibility of meeting the fundamental needs of all citizens and to better reflect the full diversity of public values and concerns in identifying appropriate outcomes and acceptable risks. Rather than relying on instrumental participation to appease an otherwise relatively disengaged public, participatory democracy calls for “transformative participation.” Transformative participation represents a fundamental redistribution of power wherein citizens engage in debate leading to consensus around policies that can meet their collective needs and interests. Governmental and public agencies are not absolved of accountability to those constituencies as in “decentralized” models of democracy (e.g., right libertarianism), however. They are responsible for carrying out policy in accordance with the public will and for ensuring that citizens have the skills, information, and resources needed to engage actively in local self-governance and to make informed decisions.

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