The Demanding Citizen: Citizen Expectations and Local Government Responses

Abstract

The overarching theme for this section stresses the challenges that local governments confront and how local authorities attempt to respond to these. Citizen expectations constitute one of several important sources for these challenges. Failure to deal with these expectations may serve to undermine the legitimacy of local government, whereas (perceptions of) successful responses to these expectations may serve to strengthen the foundation of local government. The purpose of this panel is to focus on the nature of citizen expectations and how local governments have sought to respond to these expectations. What are the expectations with which local governments are being confronted? Are they characterized by individual needs and self-interest, or are they founded upon collective interests? What are the sources of expectations? Do they derive from perceived needs, the overbidding of political parties engaged in electoral competition, appeals of demagogic agitators, comparisons with conditions existing in other local authorities, enactments that grant residents legal socio-economic rights, or perhaps other sources? Are the expectations “realistic”? Do local authorities have relevant discretionary power and capacity to respond to citizen demands, or are the expectations based on a lack of understanding regarding the distribution of political authority, fiscal illusion or other forms of wishful thinking? What are the characteristics of “the demanding citizen”? Are there noteworthy differences in expectations based on age, gender, education, occupational experience, political persuasion, or other individual characteristics, or perhaps contextual characteristics of the local authority? Finally, how are local authorities seeking to satisfy citizen expectations? Are there innovative responses to be observed, and if so, might these responses be relevant for other settings? What are the conditions that make either innovative or traditional responses more or less “successful” in responding to citizen demands? And do innovations, especially those involving forms of direct democracy (e.g. referenda and participatory budgeting) serve to curtail or reinforce an inflation of expactations? Both empirical and theoretical papers touching on these issues are welcome.

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