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Citizen Participation and Local Democracy in Europe Joerg Forbrig 5 Learning for Local Democracy A Study of Local Citizen Participation in Europe Joerg Forbrig Editor Copyright © 2011 by the Central and Eastern European Citizens Network The opinions expressed in this book are those of individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the authors‘ affiliations Published by the Central and Eastern European Citizens Network, in partnership with the Combined European Bureau for Social Development All Rights Reserved With the support of the Visegrad Fund With the support of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency With the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 2 Table of Contents Introduction: Citizen Participation and Local Democracy in Europe Joerg Forbrig 5 Building Local Communities and Civic Infrastructure in Croatia Mirela Despotović 21 Rebuilding Local Communities and Social Capital in Hungary Ilona Vercseg, Aranka Molnár, Máté Varga and Péter Peták 41 Citizen Education, Municipal Development and Local Democracy in Norway Kirsten Paaby 69 Public Consultations and Participatory Budgeting in Local Policy-Making in Poland Łukasz Prykowski 89 Public Participation Strengthening Processes and Outcomes of Local Decision-Making in Romania Oana Preda 107 Citizen Campaigns in Slovakia: From National Politics to Local Community Participation Kajo Zbořil 129 Contentious Politics and Local Citizen Action in Spain Amparo Rodrigo Mateu 151 Strengthening Local Democracy through Devolution of Power in the United Kingdom Alison Gilchrist 177 Conclusions: Ten Critical Insights for Local Citizen Participation in Europe Joerg Forbrig 203 Bibliography 213 About the Authors 219 3 4 Introduction: Citizen Participation and Local Democracy in Europe Joerg Forbrig Democracy in Europe is in trouble. Or so it seems if one takes an only cursory glance at recent developments on the continent. Large parts of Europe are confronted with the effects of a grave economic crisis, and it has made clear the problematic influence of global markets and revealed serious misconduct on the part of political decision-makers. What is worse, the long and winding way out of this existential crisis, for individual countries and Europe as a whole, will likely be dictated by technocratic rigour rather than democratic consensus. Citizens can expect to have to shoulder much of the burden while having little say in the decision-making. Partly in response partly to these dire economic straights, populist movements and right-wing parties have sprung up across Europe, and have recently scored considerable electoral success. Some of these thrive on widespread discontent with political establishments, others appeal to latent societal tensions, blaming migration and diversity for social problems and accusing foreign capital of holding national economies hostage. Yet others see European integration as the root cause of all problems and advocate the re-nationalisation of political, economic and social affairs. Together, these populisms challenge the very foundations on which the open and democratic project that is Europe has been constructed. That project seems to be weaker than ever – and the European Union along with it. Its ability to act effectively and, where needed, swiftly has hardly improved despite the contractual re-arrangements of the Lisbon treaty. The ambition of bringing Europe closer to its citizens has not been met, at least to date. Once a developmental model that outsiders queued to join, the EU today projects neither the attractiveness nor the willingness required for further enlargement into its neighbourhood to the East and Southeast. Unsurprisingly, pollsters time and again find that citizen confidence in democratic politics and European integration is lower than ever. One would be forgiven for thinking all is gloom and doom in European democracy. This is, however, not the case. For one, citizens across Europe seem to be re-discovering their power. More frequently and spectacularly than at any other time in recent history, the last few years have seen ordinary Europeans making their voice heard. Three very visible examples with far reaching significance immediately spring to mind: the local protests against the Stuttgart 21 railway project in Germany, the 15-M movement in Spain, which demands more and better participatory democracy and the Occupy movement, which protests the unfettered power and the disastrous effects of global finance.1 Although clearly Joerg Forbrig is Programme Director and Senior Programme Officer for Central and Eastern Europe at the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Berlin. 5 driven by discontent, recent cases of mass mobilisation across Europe cannot only be considered the result of Wutbürger (angry citizens) going through the motions.2 Instead, they signal genuine concern among a growing number of citizens about the workings of democracy in their home countries and on the continent as a whole. Europeans are acutely aware of the deficits displayed by political institutions and the leaders who make up the political establishments in their own countries and at the European level; most can readily identify with the social injustices that have only been amplified by the economic crisis; and they demand to be taken seriously as citizens. Their agitation is much more fundamental than the occasional protest vote in elections or mass demonstration in public places. These ordinary Europeans are seeking constructive ways of engaging in public discourse and influencing decision-making as a means addressing social problems outside of and alternative to the classical, and clearly limited, arenas of political parties, elections and parliaments. While the current crisis and the civic mobilisation in its wake lend renewed currency to discussions about the role of citizens for democracy in Europe, such debates cannot be considered new. For several decades now, democratic discourse in Europe has been abuzz with notions of civil society, citizenship, and participation. There is hardly a politician that has not paid tribute, if often lip service, to these ideas; no scholar of democracy that could omit these terms in academic writing; and barely an activist or practitioner who would not embed themselves in these broader frameworks. Few policy questions seem to be left, from social welfare and economic development to the environment and education to public security and finance that have not invoked civil society and citizen participation as part of the answer. Most government institutions, be they local, national or international, now boast platforms, forums or councils that give, or pretend to give, a voice to interested citizens, civic groups and the multitude of concerns expressed by these. And as if following this demand, numerous and varied forms of social self-organisation and engagement, some genuinely new, others more traditional but redressed, now exist and lend a stronger-than- ever voice to Europe’s citizens. Of course, this extension of democratic politics beyond elections is to be welcomed. It reflects an acknowledgement that classical state institutions, political structures and representative democracy are limited in their capacity to accommodate the growing range of interests, beliefs, problems and solutions that come with ever more differentiated societies and global interdependencies of the post-modern age. It suggests a new centrality of citizens and their directly voiced concerns, and it highlights their continuous initiative and importance in public debate and decision-making. It expresses a hope that new forms of 1 Occupy , or Occupy Wall Street , is a protest movement that originated in the occupation of Zuccotti Park near Wall Street in New York. It criticises social injustice and the excessive influence of corporations and banks in the United States, and it has been copied by other groups with similar grievances worldwide. 2 Kurbjuweit, D., “Der Wutbürger” (The Angry Citizen), Der Spiegel no. 41/2010, pp. 26f. 6 political participation and a stronger role for civil society can help to re-invigorate contemporary democracy in Europe: by re-connecting politics and societies where democratic institutions and citizens seem to have grown apart, by challenging political elites where these close in on power and office, and by enhancing the civic grass-roots and its potential for detecting and solving pressing social issues. Although it is often overlooked, the local level is perhaps the most important arena for such a broader understanding and practice of democracy. It is here, in communities, municipalities and regions, that citizens live their lives, find anchorage for much of their identity, encounter concrete social problems, and expect the delivery of effective policies and solutions. The immediate local context is what citizens understand best, what affects them most, and with which they are most likely to engage, far more likely than with the more faraway and abstract politics of the national and European levels. At the same time, state institutions in many European countries have undergone a considerable de- centralisation. Competencies have been devolved from the national to the regional and local levels, and new forms of self-government have been established. Access to additional resources,
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