About this Research Topic
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the democratic deterioration beginning at the end of the 20th century (Norris 2011; Armingeon and Guthman, 2014; Thomassen, 2016). As pointed out by Norbert Lechner, in the last decade of the last century "politics is no longer what it was."
Covid-19 has generated new (and exacerbated old) social and economic problems (increased poverty, increased unemployment, global economic slowdown, etc.). It has also raised political and institutional challenges (rethinking social integration schemes, resurgence of nationalism, localism and isolationist positions regarding economic integration and globalization, weakness and exhaustion of political parties and leaders, etc.) In addition, the scarcity of public resources to address situations that have a direct impact in the lives of citizens is evident in some cases.
This critical social, economic, political and institutional context has also led to a loss of social trust in institutions and an erosion of their legitimacy. Therefore, it is not surprising that new democratizing currents (such as those of democratic innovation) have reemerged in order to transform institutions, applying an inclusive and integrative approach, which entails a democratization of institutions, their structures, processes and activities, through participation.
According to academic literature, this approach can contribute, inter alia, to increasing the decision-making power of citizens in public and political affairs, building a “non-exclusive demos” (Smith, 2009), developing civic competencies (Grönlund et al., 2010), generating more informed decisions (Fishkin, 2009), increasing social trust in policy-making processes and in public and political institutions (Sëtala, 2014; Grönlund et al., 2014 ; Aström et al., 2017), thereby increasing legitimacy (Newton, 2012). Therefore, democratic innovation initiatives aim to overcome the democratic deficit, o“democratic malaise” (Geissel, 2013), of current political systems and improve their legitimacy by encouraging citizen participation.
Taking the above into account, the purpose of the proposed Research Topic is to investigate initiatives and experiences that attempt to transform the operations of public and political institutions, incorporating citizens in decision-making in different contexts / countries in the post-pandemic period.
Therefore, the academic and scientific community is welcome to carry out research from a theoretical and/or applied perspective on those democratic innovations that originate in the post-pandemic period. These include:
- New experiences that political institutions are implementing to favour transparency, citizen participation and control.
- The factors that condition democratic innovations in political and administrative institutions.
- The behavior of citizens participating in political processes and actions.
- The impacts generated by democratic innovations within political and administrative institutions.
- How artificial intelligence can favor democratic innovation
Covid-19 has generated new (and exacerbated old) social and economic problems (increased poverty, increased unemployment, global economic slowdown, etc.). It has also raised political and institutional challenges (rethinking social integration schemes, resurgence of nationalism, localism and isolationist positions regarding economic integration and globalization, weakness and exhaustion of political parties and leaders, etc.) In addition, the scarcity of public resources to address situations that have a direct impact in the lives of citizens is evident in some cases.
This critical social, economic, political and institutional context has also led to a loss of social trust in institutions and an erosion of their legitimacy. Therefore, it is not surprising that new democratizing currents (such as those of democratic innovation) have reemerged in order to transform institutions, applying an inclusive and integrative approach, which entails a democratization of institutions, their structures, processes and activities, through participation.
According to academic literature, this approach can contribute, inter alia, to increasing the decision-making power of citizens in public and political affairs, building a “non-exclusive demos” (Smith, 2009), developing civic competencies (Grönlund et al., 2010), generating more informed decisions (Fishkin, 2009), increasing social trust in policy-making processes and in public and political institutions (Sëtala, 2014; Grönlund et al., 2014 ; Aström et al., 2017), thereby increasing legitimacy (Newton, 2012). Therefore, democratic innovation initiatives aim to overcome the democratic deficit, o“democratic malaise” (Geissel, 2013), of current political systems and improve their legitimacy by encouraging citizen participation.
Taking the above into account, the purpose of the proposed Research Topic is to investigate initiatives and experiences that attempt to transform the operations of public and political institutions, incorporating citizens in decision-making in different contexts / countries in the post-pandemic period.
Therefore, the academic and scientific community is welcome to carry out research from a theoretical and/or applied perspective on those democratic innovations that originate in the post-pandemic period. These include:
- New experiences that political institutions are implementing to favour transparency, citizen participation and control.
- The factors that condition democratic innovations in political and administrative institutions.
- The behavior of citizens participating in political processes and actions.
- The impacts generated by democratic innovations within political and administrative institutions.
- How artificial intelligence can favor democratic innovation
Keywords: democratic innovation, COVID-19, democracy, citizen participation, AI
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