When top down visions meet grassroots digital activism: notes from Netherlands

The Netherlands provides several avenues for citizen participation in formal policy-making, and is often described as a global leader in e-participation and e-government. Yet, even in a context where citizen participation has become a policy principle, the desired format of and the actual opportunities for participation can be problematic. The Dutch case raises awareness on four pitfalls: the appropriation of citizen participation as a means to legitimise cuts to public services; the development of a limited (and limiting) vision of participation; the difficulty of a systematic review of the l... Mehr ...