What Kind of Institutional Implementation for Participatory Democracy? Theories and Debate During the Long 1970s in the United States

Abstract

In the wake of participatory turn, when participatory democracy has been promoted in multiple sectors of society, the essay assesses the relevance of its very political origins for understanding its transformative meaning. For this purpose, the author reviews the late 1960s and 1970s political literature on participatory democracy theory and its basic findings toward the reform of liberal democracy and social change. This research is part of an ongoing PhD project on the institutional implementation of the participatory democracy during the long 1970s in United States, a topic that has still scarcely been studied.