Seminar (CNSC): Political factors behind the abandonment of participatory budgeting

Program

Abstract

Participatory budgeting -PB- is one of the most successful democratic innovations implemented to enhance citizens’ impact on public policy. However, many PB programmes fail to persist beyond their initial adoption. Which political factors affect their survival? Local governments, and ultimately mayors, play a pivotal role, but the extent to which political factors influence the continuity of PB programmes remains contested, with mixed evidence in the literature. To examine this relationship, we compiled a database tracking PB processes in 90 municipalities across Catalonia from 2016 to 2024. In particular, our findings provide insights into how political conditions shape the duration of PB initiatives, along with some clues of various strategies required for political institutionalisation. They reveal that disruptions triggered by a change in the ruling party increase the likelihood of PB abandonment, while certain ideological groups are more inclined towards abandonment. Conversely, municipalities that show signs of institutionalisation, such as prior experience in participatory processes, a participation regulatory framework, and a strong local participatory culture, are more likely to maintain them.

Joel Peiruza Parga

Member of the CNSC research group (UOC) and PhD candidate in Political Science. With a background in political theory and empirical methods, his main areas of research are public participation, political representation and local government.