Local Political Participation: What Citizens Want, What Governments Do, and What Academics Assume Southern European Evidence for an International Debate Doctoral Thesis Pau Alarcón Pérez Director: Joan Font Fàbregas Tutor: Ismael Blanco Fillola December 2014 Instituto de Estudios Sociales Avanzados (IESA—CSIC) Phd studies on Public Policies and Social Transformation Institut de Govern i Polítiques Públiques (IGOP—UAB) Local Political Participation: What Citizens Want, What Governments Do, and What Academics Assume Southern European Evidence for an International Debate Doctoral Thesis Pau Alarcón Pérez Director: Joan Font Fàbregas Tutor: Ismael Blanco Fillola Instituto de Estudios Sociales Avanzados (IESA—CSIC) Institut de Govern i Polítiques Públiques (IGOP—UAB) Acknowledgements This dissertation has been possible thanks to the Personnel Training Programme (FPI) scholarship of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO). Additionally, my participation in the research teams “Mechanisms of Local Participation in Comparative Perspective: Causes and Consequences (MECPALO), with reference CSO2009-08968, and “The Results of Participatory Processes: Public Policies and Government-Society Relationships (Cherry-picking)”, with reference CSO2012-31832, has been crucial. Both research projects have been directed by Joan Font and funded by the Spanish Science Department. Also, the contribution of the Institute for Advanced Social Studies (IESA-CSIC) has been essential, providing a friendly working environment and financial support. The main survey used in the first part of the dissertation and the corresponding publications has been possible thanks to the CIS 2860 module. I also want to thank the IGOP team and especially Ramon Canal for his help during the process. I want to sincerely thank all the coauthors of the publications: Joan Font, Carol Galais, Donatella della Porta, Herbert Reiter, Lola Sesma and Magdalena Wojcieszak. Not just for their permission to present these publications, but especially because I have learned a lot working with them. Likewise, I want to thank the rest of the members of the research teams: Paloma Fontcuberta, María Jesús Funes, Eloísa del Pino, Mathias Rull, Yves Sintomer, and Julien Talpin (MECPALO); Laurence Bherer, José Luis Fernández, Patricia García, Manuel Jiménez, Fabiola Mota, Sara Pasadas, Carlos Rico, and Graham Smith (Cherry-picking); Clemente Navarro (CIS 2860 module). And I am also very grateful to all the people who have collaborated on the fieldwork: the Technical Unity of Applied Studies of the IESA, the personnel of the CIS, the practitioners, public servants, participants, and politicians. Ernesto Ganuza also deserves a mention for his support in different phases of the research. I want to thank all my colleagues with whom I have shared a workplace in Córdoba, Sydney, London and Montréal. The fruitful international stays have been possible thanks to Ariadne Vromen (University of Sydney), Graham Smith (University of Westminster), and André Blais (Université de Montréal). Thanks to Auria and Daisy for their English proofreading of most publications and the dissertation. When I was a student, two teachers where really special encouraging me to start an academic career. I want to thank Carolina Bescansa and Rosa de la Fuente, as without their suggestions and support I would not have taken this exciting path. I want to thank my family, friends and housemates for going along with my stresses and absences and helping me when I needed them. The list is too long, but I want to mention at least Andrés, Regina, Mireia, Enric, Ana M., Carol, Ángel, Daisy, Ana V., Lola, Paco, and Jaume. I have been very lucky with the supervisors of my research. Thanks to Ismael Blanco for his helpful comments and suggestions. And thanks to Joan Font, it is really pleasing to do research on the shoulders of a giant, academically and humanly speaking. If I have got here it is because of him. Finally, I want to thank the indignados and indignadas movement for opening the debate about participatory democracy in society and making it so interesting. And thanks to Podemos, Guanyem/Ganemos, Crida, Procés Constituent and other participatory candidacies and grassroots movements for making this research gain political relevance recently. Index Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 11 Publications: What Citizens Want Chapter 1: Font, J. and Alarcón, P. (2012): “Las preferencias ciudadanas sobre los procesos políticos”, in Font, J., Navarro, C., Wojcieszak, M. and Alarcón, P.: ¿“Democracia sigilosa” en España? Preferencias de la ciudadanía española sobre las formas de decisión política y sus factores explicativos. Madrid: Opiniones y Actitudes nº 71, CIS ........................................................... 21 Chapter 2: Alarcón, P. and Wojcieszak, M. (2012): “Consenso y conflicto: dos prismas para comprender la participación”, en Font, J., Navarro, C., Wojcieszak, M. and Alarcón, P.: ¿“Democracia sigilosa” en España? Preferencias de la ciudadanía española sobre las formas de decisión política y sus factores explicativos. Madrid: Opiniones y Actitudes nº 71, CIS .............. 51 What Governments Do Chapter 3: Della Porta, D., Reiter, H. and Alarcón, P. (2014): “Institutional participatory initiatives and democratic qualities”, en Font, J., Della Porta, D. and Sintomer, Y. (eds.): Participatory processes in Southern Europe: causes, processes and consequences. London; New York: Rowman and Littlefield .............................................................................................................................. 77 What Academics Assume Chapter 4: Galais, C., Font, J., Alarcón, P. and Sesma, D. (2012): “Methodological challenges for the large N study of local participatory experiences. Combining methods and databases”, Revista Internacional de Sociología, 70, extra 2: 65-87 .......................................................................... 139 Chapter 5: Alarcón, P. and Font, J. (2014): “Where Are the Boundaries of Deliberation and Participation?: A Transatlantic Debate”. Journal of Public Deliberation, forthcoming ............. 163 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................. 195 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................................... 221 Annexes What Citizens Want Annex 1: Font, J., Galais, C., Wojcieszak, M. and Alarcón, P. (2014): “Citizens and participation”, in Font, J., Della Porta, D. and Sintomer, Y. (eds.): Participatory processes in Southern Europe: causes, processes and consequences. London; New York: Rowman and Littlefield .................................................................................................................................................................... 227 Annex 2: Wojcieszak, M. and Alarcón, P. (2012): “El papel de la intensidad de las actitudes y de la participación”, in Font, J., Navarro, C., Wojcieszak, M. and Alarcón, P.: ¿“Democracia sigilosa” en España? Preferencias de la ciudadanía española sobre las formas de decisión política y sus factores explicativos. Madrid: Opiniones y Actitudes nº 71, CIS ............................. 279 Abstracts Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................................... 307 Resum ......................................................................................................................................................................... 309 _________________________________________________ Introduction 10 Introduction This dissertation focuses on participatory democracy. The analysis tackles the implementation of democratic innovations for involving citizens in the decision-making process at the local level, which have been labelled as participatory and/or deliberative mechanisms. Besides the study of participatory mechanisms themselves, citizens’ preferences in that field and academic assumptions will be introduced in the debate. The empirical analysis focuses on the Southern European region but is in constant debate with the international reality. Therefore, local political participation is addressed from three different but complementary points of view: 1) citizens, the main figures in participation processes; 2) participatory mechanisms developed at the local level; and 3) the academic debates in that regard, paying special attention to methodological and conceptual implications. Figure 1 outlines this threefold dimension and the relations among the different components to be analysed. Through the research developed in seven publications, synthesised in the conclusions, we will describe and analyse what citizens want in terms of participatory democracy, what local governments do (i.e. what kind of participatory mechanisms is being developed), and what academics assume about these democratic innovations. 11 Introduction Figure 1. Diagram of the content of this thesis Source: Compiled by author. The details about each section of this dissertation are developed in the different publications. In this introduction, the object of study is presented in general terms. The main research questions are introduced below, with