Participatory democracy has been studied across the world during the past four decades. But whether it is possible or not can be determined from existing studies since it requires an empirical verification of its impact in the long term. Participatory democracy is primarily implemented at any level of a hierarchical structure – central, regional or local governments, or private – civil society organizations. At all levels, it represents a challenge to existing relations of participation between citizens and their elected representatives and raises questions about legitimacy and representation.
Why is it important that the citizens participate in a democratic setup? Participatory democracy is the kind of democracy in which citizens are actively involved in the process of decision-making on behalf of the government that goes to benefits them. It is considered as one of the most effective tools to lead a country to prosperity and independence.
Good governance: Good governance is significant in various policy and decision-making processes undertaken by the government. The importance of the participation of people in a democratic setup can be gauged from the fact that without their participation, democracy cannot be successful. People’s participation is essential for good governance and is the backbone of the democratic process. When people express their views and opinions, it becomes possible for a government to effectively execute various welfare measures by listening to people’s grievances. Thus, if the views (of an individual) are taken into consideration, the better it gets for the prevention of corruption among the government officials or any other public functionaries and motivates them to work with dedication for the benefit of the society.
Feedback mechanism: Participation of people is undoubtedly a must for a democracy to function. When people participate in polls and other political activities, it helps the government to understand the viewpoints of citizens and gather feedback. This helps them to make policy implementation better and plugging various loopholes regarding various welfare measures. The participation of people can be either through voting or through their opinion or suggestion on policies that government may implement in the future.
Better policy implementation: The participation of people in a democratic setup is very crucial for better policy implementation. People do not believe blindly, anything that is said by the government unless they themselves are given a chance to participate and give their feedback. In the earlier days, when the government employees did not fail to involve common people in their work in whatever small or big matter they were working on. They used to encourage people to take part in such activities which enabled them to feel equally important and contributed to the behavior changes in a larger number of cases.
Accountability: The most important participation in a democratic setup is that it makes the people accountable to the government. It turns out to be a 2-way mechanism through which government can understand the issues of citizens and people can learn about governments' efforts. These mechanisms make a government accountable and accounts keep it honest.
Media: Public participation is essential for any government to survive and flourish, especially in response to conditions of people's livelihood. Social media has become a platform that allows more people to engage with governments and institutions that represent them.
Connectivity: The idea of internet governance is very much based on the idea of participatory democracy. Thus there are various ways in which the people can participate in the democratic process, on a global level. On a local level, the government encourages people to participate by setting up various platforms like mygov.in. The people can participate by giving inputs either through the discussion forums or promoting awareness campaigns among themselves or accessing various useful documents.
Incentives: Incentives are the best way to engage people. They can work in favor of government activities or private companies, as well as non-profit organizations. Government can provide incentives to people to get involved and work with the government for good governance. For example, government efforts to create various competitions like logo design contests help people to participate actively in government activities.
