Participation in citizens’ summits and public engagement
| Date | 01 June 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852317691117 |
| Published date | 01 June 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International Review of
Administrative Sciences
2019, Vol. 85(2) 211–227
!The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852317691117
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International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
Article
Participation in citizens’
summits and public engagement
Ank Michels
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Abstract
In addressing the problem of alienation, normative democratic theories claim that citi-
zen participation encourages public engagement and a sense of community. This article
analyses the effects of citizen participation on public engagement in four local citizens’
summits in the Netherlands based on a combination of survey data, interviews and
documents. The citizens’ summits appear to attract a selective group of predominantly
highly educated citizens from a Dutch background. Of the citizens who took part in the
summits, only a minority felt more connected and responsible after having participated.
Moreover, the results show that over the longer term, the number of people
who remain involved in public initiatives decreases. The findings raise doubts about
the contribution of participation in one-off forums to public engagement. A sense of
public engagement seems to be more a precondition for participation rather than a
consequence of participation.
Points for practitioners
This article analyses the effects of citizen participation on public engagement in four
local citizens’ summits in the Netherlands. The citizens’ summits appear to attract a
selective group of predominantly highly educated citizens from a Dutch background.
Of the citizens who took part in the summits, only a minority felt more connected and
responsible after having participated. Moreover, the results show that over the longer
term, the number of people who remain involved in public initiatives decreases.
The findings raise doubts about the contribution of participation in one-off forums to
public engagement.
Keywords
citizen participation, democratic innovation, public engagement, public initiative
Corresponding author:
Ank Michels, Utrecht University School of Governance, Bijlhouwerstraat 6, Utrecht 3511 ZC, The
Netherlands.
Email: a.m.b.michels@uu.nl
Introduction
A large body of empirical research has found declining levels of satisfaction with
the institutions and processes of representative democracy (Dalton, 2008; Kaase
and Newton, 1995). There seems to be general support for the idea that because
many people feel alienated from our democratic institutions and politicians,
we should look for ways to give people a more direct say in political decision-
making that complement the existing forms of representative democracy (Cain
et al., 2006; Inglehart and Welzel, 2005). Theories of participatory and deliberative
democracy assert that more direct forms of citizen involvement have a number of
positive effects on democracy. In addressing the problem of alienation, the claim is
that citizen participation encourages public engagement and a sense of community,
fostering a feeling of being a public citizen, feeling responsible and the willingness
to be active in public life (Barber, 1984; Pateman, 1970; Putnam, 2000).
Yet, the empirical evidence as to what extent involving citizens affects public
engagement is sparse and scattered. Numerous studies point at improvements in
knowledge, but also in skills, and identification with the community as an effect of
participation (Geissel, 2009; Gro
¨nlund et al., 2007; Vetter, 2014; Michels and
De Graaf, 2010 ). However, both the variation in concepts and operationalization,
and the variation in forms of participation, make it difficult to compare studies and
draw conclusions about the relation between participation and public engagement
(Michels, 2011).
This article seeks to build on previous insights by analysing the effects of citizen
participation on public engagement in four local citizens’ summits (so-called
G1000s) in the Netherlands.
1
A G1000 is an example of a deliberative mini-
public (Gro
¨nlund et al., 2014; Ryan and Smith, 2014), which was first introduced
in Belgium in 2011 as a means to empower citizens and to reach agreement in cases
where politicians had failed to do so (Caluwaerts and Reuchamps, 2014a, 2014b).
The G1000 in Belgium formed a source of inspiration to citizens and council mem-
bers in a number of municipalities in the Netherlands.
The aim of this article is to investigate the effects of participation in the G1000s
on public engagement. The article is structured as follows. In the first section,
previous research about participation and its effects on citizen engagement is
discussed. Then, the G1000s in Amersfoort, Uden, Kruiskamp and Groningen
are introduced. After describing the methodology and data used, the empirical
analysis of the G1000s in the Netherlands starts with a characterization of the
group of participants in each G1000. The analysis then focuses on the effects of
this on public participation. In the conclusion, the findings are summarized.
Participation and effects on citizens
Normative theories on citizen participation and democracy differentiate between
effects on individual citizens and effects on politics and decision-making. The
impact on politics and decision-making refers, for example, to the effects of citizen
212 International Review of Administrative Sciences 85(2)
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