A Functionalist Approach to Democratic Innovations

Abstract

<p>This article argues that it is important to analyse different democratic innovations in terms of their functions in democratic systems. For example, while citizens’ initiatives have a role in agenda setting, practices of citizen deliberation should help collective will-formation and referendums facilitate collective decision making. The article provides a framework for the analysis of various instruments of direct, deliberative and participatory<br>democracy based on their functions, and evaluates five democratic innovations from the perspective of this framework. It is pointed out that, when properly used, even advisory participatory instruments have a potential to improve the functioning of representative decision making. Moreover, the article shows how democratic innovations can functionally complement each other.<br></p>