17 January 2020

Carnegie Europe: Can Europe be a catalyst for democratic innovation?

When debating democratic reform in Europe, it is important to keep in mind three benchmarks of success. First, public decisionmaking processes must address society’s challenges more effectively and inclusively. Second, democratic institutions should be redesigned to encourage political innovation. Finally, any new measures, experiments, policies, or rules that have been proven to work should move swiftly through the political system and be put into practice. [...]

Too many local solutions do not percolate through the EU system. Large-scale state inefficiency often coexists with pockets of enlightened citizen innovation. There are plenty of useful individual experiments in participation, but policies are still failing to gather and use smart ideas from the broader population.

The kind of reform options now being discussed within the EU center around rather formalistic, institutional changes. They have little to do with harnessing the spirit of collective intelligence. [...]

The push for democracy that is on the policy agenda needs to be approached in a fresh spirit. A few formal, institutional tweaks will not be enough. The EU needs a system that more people can actively take part in. It needs to take advantage of Europe’s societal complexity, which can be the source of diverse collective ideas.

To achieve this, the EU should try to give all stakeholders, citizens, corporations, civil society, and local, regional, and national authorities a chance to suggest solutions to social problems. This could be done through a revised system of interest group representation, permanent citizen co-legislation processes and an increased role for science in policymaking. This would deepen member states’ ability to tackle thorny issues effectively over the long-term. [...]

Full article on Carnegie Europe

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