Policymaker commissions and citizen participation
Elected representatives call for citizen participation. They’re seeking the co-construction of public action and want to “get” local residents involved. However, the methods used are marred by contradictions as there is a desire for participation, but within a “controlled” framework. Self-organised movements lack support and legitimacy. Is it possible to generate citizen participation through political control? Is this the role of politics? Isn’t it more a matter of listening to and serving the public? Don’t these participatory processes all too often assign residents an image and a role determined on their behalf, during the “project” time frame at a moment chosen by politicians? Participatory democracy remains immature, leading to an instrumentalisation that serves, above all, to legitimise political action.