journal article Feb 25, 2015

Putting the Public Back into Governance: The Challenges of Citizen Participation and Its Future

Public Administration Review Vol. 75 No. 4 pp. 513-522 · Wiley
View at Publisher Save 10.1111/puar.12361
Abstract
AbstractThe past two decades have seen a proliferation of large‐ and small‐scale experiments in participatory governance. This article takes stock of claims about the potential of citizen participation to advance three values of democratic governance: effectiveness, legitimacy, and social justice. Increasing constraints on the public sector in many societies, combined with increasing demand for individual engagement and the affordances of digital technology, have paved the way for participatory innovations aimed at effective governance. Deepening legitimation deficits of representative government create opportunities for legitimacy‐enhancing forms of citizen participation, but so far, the effect of participation on legitimacy is unclear. Efforts to increase social justice through citizen participation face the greatest obstacles. The article concludes by highlighting three challenges to creating successful participatory governance: the absence of systematic leadership, the lack of popular or elite consensus on the place of direct citizen participation, and the limited scope and powers of participatory innovations.
Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References
35
[1]
Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice

Chris Ansell, Alison Gash

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theo... 10.1093/jopart/mum032
[2]
Cohen Joshua (1989)
[3]
Dalton Russell J (2008)
[4]
Everyday Democracy.2011. Strong Starts for Children: Policy Forum Report and Findings.http://www.scribd.com/doc/51485360/Strong‐Starts‐Policy‐Forum‐Report‐and‐Findings[accessed January 29 2015].
[6]
Fung Archon (2004)
[9]
Ganuza Ernesto "Power of Ambiguity: How Participatory Budgeting Travels the Globe" Journal of Public Deliberation (2012)
[11]
Goldsmith Stephen (2004)
[14]
Lessig Lawrence (2011)
[16]
Nye Joseph S (1997)
[17]
Participedia.2009. British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.http://participedia.net/en/cases/british‐columbia‐citizens‐assembly‐electoral‐reform[accessed January 29 2015].
[18]
Participedia.2010a. Citizens’ Initiative Review.http://participedia.net/en/cases/oregon‐citizens‐initiative‐review‐oregon‐cir[accessed January 29 2015].
[19]
Participedia.2010b. Ontario Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.http://participedia.net/en/cases/ontario‐citizens‐assembly‐electoral‐reform[accessed January 29 2015].
[20]
Participedia.2011. Strong Starts for Children (Albuquerque New Mexico USA).http://participedia.net/en/cases/strong‐starts‐children‐albuquerque‐new‐mexico‐usa[accessed January 29 2015].
[21]
Peixoto Tiago.2014. Participatory Budgeting Map.https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=210554752554258740073.00045675b996d14eb6c3a&t=m&11=40.979898 14.765625&spn=145.175291 298.828125&z=1&source=embed [accessed January 30 2015].
[24]
Public Opinion Project Institute of Politics Harvard University.2013. Spring 2013 Survey.http://www.iop.harvard.edu/spring‐2013‐survey[accessed January 30 2015].
[26]
Russon‐Gilman Hollie "Transformative Deliberations: Participatory Budgeting in the United States" Journal of Public Deliberation (2012)
[29]
Selznick Philip (1949)
[30]
Skogan Wesley G (1997) 10.1093/oso/9780195105605.001.0001
[31]
Smith Graham (2014)
[32]
Sonenshein Raphael J (2013)
Metrics
848
Citations
35
References
Details
Published
Feb 25, 2015
Vol/Issue
75(4)
Pages
513-522
License
View
Cite This Article
Archon Fung (2015). Putting the Public Back into Governance: The Challenges of Citizen Participation and Its Future. Public Administration Review, 75(4), 513-522. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12361
Related

You May Also Like

The Motivational Bases of Public Service

James L. Perry, Lois Recascino Wise · 1990

2,156 citations

The Many Meanings of Research Utilization

Carol H. Weiss · 1979

1,432 citations

Four Systems of Policy, Politics, and Choice

Theodore J. Lowi · 1972

1,059 citations

The New Public Service: Serving Rather than Steering

Robert B. Denhardt, Janet Vinzant Denhardt · 2000

1,009 citations