Not in my backyard versus a say for all
Only with the wisdom of the many can the pressing issues of the future be resolved. The fourth estate, the consultative body, is its mouthpiece. Our democracy will no longer be able to manage without it. Democracy in crisis? Disenchantment with politics everywhere? Mockery and anger among citizens? That is only one side of the coin. On the other, more and more citizens are demanding the right to have a say and the power to shape events. Still far too rarely, but more and more frequently, there is broad and in-depth consultation with citizens before laws are developed and passed. We are right in the middle of the participation revolution. Patrizia Nanz and Claus Leggewie, passionate campaigners for participation and the democratisation of democracy, are calling for the institutionalisation of future councils, a nationwide network of consultative bodies from the local to the European level. With this concept, they have not only developed a pioneering model, but have also been actively supporting citizens for a long time in reclaiming their political room for manoeuvre by contributing practicable proposals for solving difficult tasks such as the search for a final storage site or refugee accommodation.
Claus Leggewie, (*1950), German political scientist and director of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen, co-editor of Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik.
Patrizia Nanz, born in 1965, political scientist and expert in citizen participation and democratic innovation.
Moderation: Isolde Charim, author and philosopher
The book by Claus Leggewie and Patrizia Nanz The Consultative. More democracy through citizen participation will be published by Klaus Wagenbach in March 2016.