Chapter Introduction

Overview & Synopsis

This book brings together scholarship and debates on citizenship and democratic innovation, and examines how democratic innovations might change, or even consolidate, the existing contours of citizenship. Arguing that the nexus between research on citizenship and democratic innovations can be found in the praxis approach to citizenship, where citizenship can be framed as a realm of actions and practices, the book shifts the discussion from the institutional level into a more conceptual realm of analysis. Taking stock of the democratic innovations at the local level, the national level, and the EU-level, such as citizen assemblies, referendums, and participatory budgeting, the book further surveys and maps their contribution to the democratic quality of citizenship across various European countries. This book is of key interest to scholars and students of democratic innovations, citizenship studies, democratization, governance, and more generally public policy, and European Politics and Studies. Chapter 5 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license.