Can deliberative democracy work in urban India?
India faces extensive challenges of rapid urbanization and deficits in human well-being and environmental sustainability. Democratic governance is expected to strengthen public policies and efforts towards sustainability. This article presents a study in Pune, India, which aimed at exploring percept...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
MDPI
2021
|
| Online Access: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/83365 |
| _version_ | 1848764577010941952 |
|---|---|
| author | Menon, Sanskriti Hartz-Karp, Janette Marinova, Dora |
| author_facet | Menon, Sanskriti Hartz-Karp, Janette Marinova, Dora |
| author_sort | Menon, Sanskriti |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | India faces extensive challenges of rapid urbanization and deficits in human well-being and environmental sustainability. Democratic governance is expected to strengthen public policies and efforts towards sustainability. This article presents a study in Pune, India, which aimed at exploring perceptions about public participation in urban governance and the potential of high-quality public deliberation to meet deficits. The research reveals disaffection of the public with government decision-making and government-led participation. Further, it shows that people are interested in participating in community life and seek to be partners in civic decision-making, but find themselves unable to do so. The study illustrates that high-quality public deliberations facilitated by an independent third party can provide a satisfactory space of participation, learning, and developing balanced outcomes. Citizens expressed readiness for partnership, third-party facilitation, and support from civic advocacy groups. Challenges with regard to government commitment to deliberative democracy will need to be overcome for a purposeful shift from conventional weak to empowered participation of ordinary citizens in civic decision-making. We anticipate that while institutionalization of high-quality public deliberations may take time, civil society-led public deliberations may help raise community expectations and demand for induced deliberative democracy. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:21:34Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-83365 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:21:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-833652021-05-10T06:48:10Z Can deliberative democracy work in urban India? Menon, Sanskriti Hartz-Karp, Janette Marinova, Dora India faces extensive challenges of rapid urbanization and deficits in human well-being and environmental sustainability. Democratic governance is expected to strengthen public policies and efforts towards sustainability. This article presents a study in Pune, India, which aimed at exploring perceptions about public participation in urban governance and the potential of high-quality public deliberation to meet deficits. The research reveals disaffection of the public with government decision-making and government-led participation. Further, it shows that people are interested in participating in community life and seek to be partners in civic decision-making, but find themselves unable to do so. The study illustrates that high-quality public deliberations facilitated by an independent third party can provide a satisfactory space of participation, learning, and developing balanced outcomes. Citizens expressed readiness for partnership, third-party facilitation, and support from civic advocacy groups. Challenges with regard to government commitment to deliberative democracy will need to be overcome for a purposeful shift from conventional weak to empowered participation of ordinary citizens in civic decision-making. We anticipate that while institutionalization of high-quality public deliberations may take time, civil society-led public deliberations may help raise community expectations and demand for induced deliberative democracy. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/83365 10.3390/urbansci5020039 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ MDPI fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Menon, Sanskriti Hartz-Karp, Janette Marinova, Dora Can deliberative democracy work in urban India? |
| title | Can deliberative democracy work in urban India? |
| title_full | Can deliberative democracy work in urban India? |
| title_fullStr | Can deliberative democracy work in urban India? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can deliberative democracy work in urban India? |
| title_short | Can deliberative democracy work in urban India? |
| title_sort | can deliberative democracy work in urban india? |
| url | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/83365 |