Introduction

There has been a growing interest of public sector researchers and practitioners in the last 25 years in the involvement of citizens in government decision-making and policy development. This is seen as a complement and reinforcement of representative democracy where citizens not only elect their representatives, who take responsibility for government decisions and policies, but also provide their feedback to them on a continuous and systematic basis. A sound theoretical foundation for these ideas has been developed, which has been followed by practical application in many countries all over the world. Barber (1984) ¹ introduces the concept of 'strong democracy', which is characterized by active citizen participation and discussion among opposing views. However, he argues that this is not easy, since 'it entails listening no less than speaking, it is affective as well as cognitive ...',and also requires sufficient 'civic education', which can strengthen public discourse and participation in the democratic process. He proposes three forms of civic education for this purpose: formal education in citizenship (including teaching on a nation's constitution, legal system and political practice), private sphere social activity focusing on debate about its effect on local issues and participatory politics itself, which he argues is the most successful form of civic education. In the same direction Held (1987), ² combining work of previous researchers, defines an emergent new model of democracy, which he termed as 'participatory democracy'. A key principle of this model is that:

the equal right to self-development can only be achieved in a participatory society, a society which fosters a sense of political efficacy, nurtures a concern for collective problems and contributes to the formation of a knowledgeable citizenry capable of taking a sustained interest in the governing process.