Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Abstract: Participatory institutions are riding a wave of theoretical and empirical attention as researchers, scholars, activists, and government officials seek to better understand how (and if) the direct incorporation of citizens into policymaking processes helps to overcome perceived deficiencies of actual, existing representative democracy. Participatory institutions are almost always grafted onto existing state institutions and representative democratic institutions; they are nestled into the space that links civil society, political society, and the state, which makes it necessary to draw from a broad range of theoretical approaches to best understand their impact. This paper develops a theoretical framework to better account for why some participatory institutions fail, why some are considered successful, and why many produce both positive and negative outcomes. The theoretical framework developed in this article is anchored in three analytical areas to better account for variations in the quality of participatory governance institutions: (a) Capacity of state and civil society to carry out functions that give support to participatory processes; (b) intervening institutions’ affect on participatory processes; (c) the individuals’ interests and strategic choices within participatory institutions.