Civic participation at local level - types and limits

Abstract

The paper attempts to diagnose the level of civic participation in local issues by means of the three existing possibilities: applying the procedures of a representative democracy, participatory democratic institutions and more or less institutionalised forms of civil society. The starting point is the assumption that, perhaps, the way to stimulate citizens, most of whom do not participate in the procedures of a strongly party-dependent representative democracy, will be based on the introduction of elements of participatory democracy, or the formation of loosely institutionalised social movements that constitute a civil society. On the basis of the collected data, it can be said that from the current point of view there is no indication that the status quo might be changed and the level of participation raised. In addition, it seems that the majority of society are reluctant to actively participate in public affairs, regardless of the existing institutional opportunities, the reasons for which are not entirely clear – they may include a persistent low level of trust in other people, and a lack of circumstances, forcing them to take action.