Philosophy of Democracy in the Development of Participatory Public Administration

Abstract

This Article aims, therefore, at analysing the relationship between democratic philosophy and participatory public administration and how theoretical underpinnings of democracy inform theories of participatory governance. Analyzing the concepts of deliberative democracy and collaborative governance, the review demonstrates that these theories play an important role in improving the scopes of citizens participation, official transparency, and accountability in a public administration process. It explains core forms of participatory governance, or mechanisms based on the public’s direct or indirect involvement in decision-making, such as participatory budgeting and digital participation and assesses the real-world application and benefits of the participatory governance forms. It also discusses the limitations of the prior literature in which researchers failed to follow a rigorous methodological approach to analyse the consequences of the participatory models, as well as limited understanding of how the principles from the different schools of democracy theory can be adopted by the public administration. Finally, the present review offers a systematic synopsis of how democratic philosophy inspires and refashions the participatory public administration to benefit theoreticians and practitioners who seek to enhance governance systems.