ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with the problem of increased global autocratization and explores how democracies can be revitalized by incorporating a strong participative element. The key point is that the trend of autocratization cannot be stopped other than from within, by the participating citizens themselves. The first part of the chapter examines the need for participation; the second explores different objections to standard participatory models. It then argues that to answer these objections, we must formulate an extended model of participation, which includes two additional elements: responsiveness and interaction. The extended participative model can be used both as a diagnostic tool that successfully tracks the strength or weakness of a political system and as a framework for implementing fruitful participative elements in order to strengthen democratic and weaken autocratic tendencies. The main upshot of the discussion is that there must exist a system of checks and balances that is not only institutional but also epistemic. In other words, knowledge of key policy issues shared by both government representatives and citizens is a prerequisite for a vital democratic system.
