Evaluating the Democratic Quality of Local Democratic Practices – Sampling Seven Frameworks

Authors

  • Karl Löfgren School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
  • Annika Agger Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University, Denmark

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v25i3-4.7081

Keywords:

democratic assessment, democratic framework, democratic innovation, performance, public sector evaluation

Abstract

There has been an upsurge in more participatory, interactive and citizen-oriented governance practices all around the world since the 1990s. What they all have in common is an emphasis on mobilising citizens and stakeholders affected, strengthening local communities, ensuring efficient planning solutions, and securing enhanced legitimacy for existing governing institutions. Conversely, we have witnessed a growing interest in designing frameworks for evaluating the democratic quality of these innovations, asking questions such as the extent to which they actually are enhancing the quality of democracy? This article juxtaposes seven recent evaluative frameworks developed by academics, which address the question of the democratic quality of these new democratic innovations. The article concludes that there are many overlaps between the different frameworks in terms of criteria with a mix of traditional and more participatory democratic norms at play. Furthermore, it also concludes these evaluative practices in many ways reflect the managerial search for accountability mechanisms in the public sector.

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Author Biographies

Karl Löfgren, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Dr Karl Löfgren is Deputy Head of School and Associate Professor in the School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He has previously held academic positions with Copenhagen University (Denmark), Malmö University (Sweden) and Roskilde University (Denmark). Current research interests include digital governance and service delivery, public management, and policy implementation/organisational changes/reforms in public sector organisations.

Annika Agger, Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University, Denmark

Dr Annika Agger is Associate Professor (public administration with a particular focus on citizen involvement) in the Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University, Denmark. Her research field is urban governance and planning, public values and democracy. Current research interests include citizen involvement, urban practitioners and the interface between government and civil society.

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Published

2021-12-15

How to Cite

Löfgren, K., & Agger, A. (2021). Evaluating the Democratic Quality of Local Democratic Practices – Sampling Seven Frameworks. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, 25(3/4), 87–106. https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v25i3-4.7081

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