A próxima sessão da Democratic Innovations Seminar Series será no dia 15 de novembro, com Roberto Falanga (ICS-ULisboa), José Duarte Ribeiro (ICS-ULisboa) e João Moniz (ICS-ULisboa). O tema desta sessão organizada pelos Grupos de Investigação RIGoP e SHIFT será Deomcratic Innovations and Sustainability: a theoretical and empirical review.

Democracy is under increasing threat from multiple fronts. In this context, many have argued that Democratic Innovations can be part of the solution since they purportedly seek to bring citizens closer to the policy- and decision-making process thus making institutions more responsive, transparent and accountable. These innovations can be defined as institutions or processes that employ deliberative and/or participatory means to increase and diversify citizen’s participation in public affairs with the overarching goal of improving the quality of democracy by tackling specific contextual deficits. In this seminar we present key findings of the first ever documented review of Democratic Innovations with a specific focus on how they interact and complement goals of social and environmental sustainability. In addition to reviewing the scientific literature, we produced an extensive dataset of Democratic Innovations in Europe. This dataset is composed of over 1300 cases from all European countries, spanning the 1970s to the present, gathered from publicly accessible sources. The results of our analysis underscore the transformative potential of DIs to promote democratic legitimacy and social cohesion. However, their success hinges on inclusive designs, institutional integration, and ongoing evaluation to mitigate barriers to participation and maintain democratic quality.

A partir das 11h, na Sala 2 do ICS-ULisboa e online.