@phdthesis{01K8JEH7EZVJ2RN8EGT5SZN4AA,
  abstract     = {{Many (local) governments are increasingly exploring ways to involve individual citizens in policymaking through mechanisms such as citizen panels, participatory budgets, and other innovative participation modes. The aim is typically to reengage the public amid declining trust in political institutions and is driven by widespread dissatisfaction with traditional politics, the rise of populism, and a growing democratic disconnect; phenomena often described as a ‘crisis of representative democracy’. Participation in policymaking by individual citizens is expected to strengthen democratic legitimacy, improve policymaking, and foster greater support for policy implementation.  The central premise of this dissertation is that individual citizen participation has the potential to be in discord with or alleviate long-standing practices of participation in policymaking by civil society organisations (CSOs). CSOs engage citizens in associations, cultivate public opinion, advocate for needs of certain groups etc. They provide information about their expertise and thereby acquire an important position in the policymaking process. In Flanders, the empirical context of this dissertation, CSOs have a privileged relationship between CSO and government. CSOs play an essential role in creating participation; they are consulted in the policymaking process, where they function as mediators between citizens and government. Participation as practised in individual citizen participation is often narrowed down to the relationship between individual citizens and government and explicitly leaves out other democratic actors, such as CSOs. This perspective is juxtaposed with established participation practices in civil society.  This study focuses on CSOs’ attitudes towards different modes of participation when governments increasingly emphasise direct citizen involvement. We posit that CSOs’ perceptions are shaped by their organisational interests. We put forward a twofold assumption: on the one hand, tension may arise between individual citizen participation and CSOs’ interests; on the other hand, CSOs, committed to fostering civic awareness and political participation, may embrace the newer, individual citizen participation modes as opportunities. This dissertation contributes to the scholarly literature by examining how various democratic stakeholders, most notably CSOs, perceive institutionalised participation compared to individual citizen participation, thereby addressing a gap in understanding their perspectives within a transforming participatory environment.  Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research integrates qualitative and quantitative data, where findings from one method inform the subsequent method, thereby enhancing the robustness of the results. The four empirical chapters combine surveys, which predominantly capture CSOs’ attitudes towards various participation modes, with in-depth interviews that provide qualitative insights about CSOs’ perceptions of the legitimacy of different participation modes. The research culminates in six conclusions: (1) CSOs generally prefer institutionalised participation, (2) many are nonetheless open to individual citizen participation modes, (3) they prefer participation initiated within society (bottom-up), (4) participation that is deliberative and grants citizens an advisory role is typically gauged better, (5) when CSOs have a role within a participation mode this affects their perceptions mostly positively, and (6) trust in government also shapes their perceptions positively. These findings contribute to previous theory and the literature by demonstrating that CSOs’ positive or negative perceptions of participation are contingent on various circumstances. Our findings are important for (local) governments conducting participation, especially in contexts where civil society has a prominent role. Understanding which CSOs support or resist different participation modes helps design more effective individual citizen participation in policymaking.}},
  author       = {{Berkvens, Liese}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{210}},
  publisher    = {{Ghent University. Faculty of Economics and Business Administration}},
  school       = {{Ghent University}},
  title        = {{Of course, it’s not a good way to take decisions, but it works to put stuff on the agenda : civil society organisations’ perceptions of participation modes in policymaking}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}