From participation to democratic innovations - the case of the Czech Republic

Over the last decades, democracy in the Czech Republic transformed. On the one hand, disenchantment with representative democracy, specifically with the established parties and party politics, increased significantly. On the other hand, demand for more participation, especially at the local level, grew. Here, the cure to the ills of representative democracy is more participatory democracy. This includes civil society, but more importantly, demands for more inclusion in decisions directly affecting their lives and communities. As a result, various types of democratic innovation are emerging and gaining importance. The paper focuses on participatory budgeting in the Czech Republic. Compared to the world, this is a relatively new phenomenon in Czechia and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which has not yet been sufficiently explored. The paper offers a first systematic analysis of participatory budgeting in Czechia alongside three criteria: inclusiveness, transparency, and mobilisation potential. These criteria are essential. If citizens cannot debate and change the rules, if there is no plural inclusion of citizenry, or if decision-making procedures are not transparent, then participatory budgeting may conceal a new form of domination that has nothing to do with a process of democratisation (Ganuza and Baiocchi 2019). Finally, attention is paid to the advantages/disadvantages, potential and limits of participatory budgeting in Czechia, especially in times of crisis (pandemic).