Conclusions
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from the start of the policymaking process. Opportunities to participate during later phases of the policymaking process are less effective and less efficient. Participation should not only be discussed from a quantitative perspective, but also from a qualitative perspective. Readers are encouraged to explore and consider alternative views, such as those provided by Lipman and Stokes,25 who conclude that the opportunity to participate throughout an entire policymaking process is just as important as initial participatory opportunities. For this reason, including arguments from other authors such as Lipman and Stokes would also enhance a text’s ability to stimulate thoughts and debate. This is because readers would also consider the views that participation in the later stages of policymaking offers the added advantage of ensuring policies are in accordance with agreements made in the first-instance participatory consultations, linking the importance of good participatory principles with the concepts of accountability and good governance.
6. Conclusions In a representative democracy, not all government actions are controlled by parliament, the representatives of the people. Generally, the main topics or the general lines of administrative policies are controlled elsewhere. For that reason, there is an additional need for participation by the citizens. It is important that in all the government’s activities which have direct consequences for people, the directly affected persons are involved in the decision-making process. However, participation is linked to the legitimacy of the administration in a more substantial way. Direct democracy and representative democracy often strengthen each other. There are different types of participation. The following forms of public participation have already been described several times: popular initiatives, citizens’ panels, referenda, and community-level participation. Some forms are related only to some phases in the process of policy-development, but other forms can be used in all the phases of the policy-process. It means that a choice always has to be made, based both on the issue involved and on the desired degree of participation of citizens. An example concerning the citizens’ initiative at the EU level can be found in article 11(4) TFEU. There is a lack of sufficient methodology on direct democracy and the principle of participation enjoys a great variety of standards throughout Europe. For example, if one compares the use of direct democracy in the United Kingdom to Switzerland, there is a vast contrast. Since the 1850s, Switzerland has held over 500 national referendums. If a petition is signed by one per cent of the electorate and submitted calling for a referendum on an issue under consideration by the government, then a referendum must be held. The signatures of 2 per cent of voters are enough to call a referendum on an issue not under government consideration.26 In contrast, since 1973, there have been only eleven referenda in the United Kingdom, and none since 1997. They have generally been used over the issue of devolution or other major constitutional issues, such as remaining as part of the EU in 1975. In fact, a report by the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution in relation to referendums concluded that there are significant drawbacks to the use of referenda. In particular, we regret the ad hoc 25
Lipman and Stokes 2008.
26
McConnachie 2000.
