No abstract

Recent research on citizen process preferences has highlighted three different models of decision making: representation, participation and stealth democracy. However, the meanings of the two alternatives to the prevailing representative model have not been fully explored. What do citizens have in mind when distinguishing between participatory and stealth models of democracy? Using survey data from several Western European countries, the article explores one distinction within preferences for each of the models: the preference for more referendum-based versus dynamic responsiveness-based solutions on the participatory side and for expert-based versus business-based solutions on the stealth side. The article ends by exploring the impact of left-right ideology and education upon these preferences. The explanatory power of the variables is greater for understanding the internal distinction of the stealth model than the participatory one.

Most research on participatory processes has stressed the positive effects that these institutions have in the relationships between public authorities and civil society. This article analyzes a more negative product that has received scant attention: participatory frustration. Departing from Hirschman’s cycles of involvement and detachment, the article shows four paths toward frustration after engaging in institutional participatory processes: (a) inflated expectations, (b) the failure of design and adjusting mechanisms, (c) poor results, and (d) abrupt discontinuations. Drawing on six cases in Spanish cities, this article proposes a reflection on how participatory reforms can contribute to feed frustration and political disenchantment.