ABSTRACT
European and other advanced democracies appear to be suffering from a democratic squeeze. Voter turnout, partisan identification, party membership, and trust in politicians and government – all crucial to a healthy, functioning democracy – are declining (Mair 2006). Simultaneously, there has been a rise in supporter-based, memberless groups – that is, of tertiary associations or protest businesses – and more individualized participation (Jordan and Maloney 1997; Putnam 2000; Pattie et al. 2004). Against this backdrop, many political administrations, politicians, advocates of participatory democracy, and social capital enthusiasts have sought to find solutions to these democratic challenges. For example, the Commission of the European Union (EU) is aiming to tackle what it sees as a democratic deficit by encouraging a more meaningful political engagement of civil society in its attempt at ‘bringing the institutions closer to citizens’ (Commission of the European Communities 2004: 3). The contemporary democratic tenet is that ‘[u]nless citizens participate in the deliberation of public policy, and their choices structure government action, then democratic processes are meaningless’ (Dalton 2008: 78).
