ABSTRACT
Do participatory digital platforms contribute to changing the patterns of local governance? In this chapter, we focus on the implementation of the participatory platform Decidim among Catalan local governments. The deployment of this platform, originally designed by protest activists from the 15-M and free-software movements, exemplifies the tensions between the logics of social movements and public administrations. These logics refer to different models of participatory governance (democracy-driven governance versus governance-driven democratisation) that can coexist and interact with each other, though not unproblematically. We study the obstacles, drivers and trade-offs that condition the development of Decidim as a tool for expanding participatory governance. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, we examine the perceptions of public managers in charge of implementing Decidim, who play a liaison role between local administrations and civil society. The results show that municipalities with a higher proportion of registered citizens are more likely to find resistance from local associations due to fear of disintermediation. In addition, the digital platform can interfere with previous structures of participation and modify the balance between the goals of transparency and participation.
