Changing the status quo through democratic innovations? Three paradoxes from the Iberian Peninsula

Citizen distrust in mainstream politics has spurred the rise of new democratic processes for citizen participation and deliberation, known as democratic innovations. These innovations are believed to improve democracy by changing the status quo. This paper critically examines whether this goal is ac...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Falanga, Roberto, Ganuza, Ernesto
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2025
País:Brasil
Recursos:Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP)
Repositório:Cadernos Metrópole (Online)
Idioma:português
inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/68149
Acesso em linha:https://revistas.pucsp.br/index.php/metropole/article/view/68149
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:democratic innovations
democracy
status quo
Portugal
Spain
inovações democráticas
democracia
Espanha
Descrição
Resumo:Citizen distrust in mainstream politics has spurred the rise of new democratic processes for citizen participation and deliberation, known as democratic innovations. These innovations are believed to improve democracy by changing the status quo. This paper critically examines whether this goal is achieved by focusing on participatory budgeting and citizens’ assemblies in the Iberian Peninsula. Three paradoxes arise from our reflection, related to the role of elected officials, neutralization of policymaking, and evaluation of outcomes. These paradoxes suggest the need for further studies on how democratic innovations can change the status quo and contribute to democratizing our democracies. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/2236-9996.2025-6368149-en https://doi.org/10.1590/2236-9996.2025-6368149-pt