@phdthesis{01K4M70D67M43TBABPE40B6FHK,
  abstract     = {{This doctoral dissertation is situated in the broader political context of citizen participation, which has become a mainstream practice in local democratic processes. This study investigates elected politicians - particularly local councilors - who play a crucial role between citizens and policymaking. Local councilors as gatekeepers determine the existence, the extent and the nature of citizen involvement in local governance. The research investigates how councilors perceive and shape participatory processes, focusing on their attitudes and self-conceived roles. It seeks to identify how councilors contribute to, or limit, participatory practices. 

Extensive research has been conducted on various instruments and design features of these participatory arrangements. These include participatory tools like advisory committees, participatory budgeting, mini-publics and other mechanisms that enable citizens to contribute to policy. The focus of earlier studies has mostly been on citizens (their attitudes, behavior, etc.), while I shift the focus to local councilors. This dissertation adds to this body of research by investigating councilors’ attitudes towards different participatory arrangements and examining their roles within. To achieve a comprehensive understanding, the study employs a mixed methods approach. This includes a large-scale survey of local councilors used to gather quantitative data on their attitudes and roles, complemented by 19 in-depth interviews to provide qualitative insights. Combining these methods provides a nuanced understanding of councilors in a complex policy context influenced by the rise of participatory governance. 

The empirical chapters reveal that, in general, councilors support a wide array of participatory decision-making processes. Politicians broadly endorse conventional, advisory forms of participation, indicating a willingness to involve citizens in policymaking as long as it is not too impactful. The findings also show that councilors in power, those with right-wing views, and those with a partisan role orientation tend to have a more conservative attitude towards citizen participation. These councilors seem to favor traditional, less extensive forms of citizen participation. In contrast, opposition members, left-leaning councilors and delegates are more open to extensive citizen engagement.

Moreover, the qualitative approach reveals several practical and normative challenges that make politicians more reserved about particular participatory processes. These challenges include doubts about feasibility, concerns over high costs, and the risk of limited inclusiveness in citizen participation processes.

When examining the roles councilors conceive in participatory processes, several distinct role images emerge. These can be clustered into two dominant role sets: a participatory meta-governor role, where councilors actively facilitate citizen engagement, and a resistor role, where councilors are more restrained and skeptical of participatory initiatives. These roles are also shaped by political ideology and power status.

This doctoral dissertation provides valuable insights into the dynamics of citizen participation in local governance. By shifting the focus from citizens to elected representatives and employing a mixed methods approach, this dissertation contributes to the literature on political representation and participatory democracy. It enhances the understanding of the factors that shape councilors' attitudes and roles in participatory decision-making. The findings highlight tensions between representative and participatory logics, shedding light on the complexities of incorporating public input into municipal decision-making. While citizen participation has a growing significance in policymaking, citizen participation merits scholarly attention as an embedded and dynamic feature of democratic institutions rather than a peripheral or standalone instrument.}},
  author       = {{De Smedt, Nina}},
  keywords     = {{Participatory democracy,Local and urban politics,Democratic innovations,political engagement,citizen participation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{296}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Political and Social Sciences}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{Participatory versus representative democracy? Local councilors’ attitudes and roles in citizen participation}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}