Does policy context matter for citizen engagement in policymaking? Evidence from the European Commission's public consultation regime

Idunn Nørbech

European Union Politics, 2024, vol. 25, issue 1, 130-150

Abstract: The European Commission has shown efforts to strengthen citizens’ participation in its policy formulation processes through public consultation opportunities. However, we currently lack a systematic analysis of the factors that drive citizens’ participation in the formulation stages of supranational policymaking. This study provides important insights into this research gap and considers whether and how policy context matters for the levels of citizen engagement in the European Commission's open consultation opportunities based on the associated costs and benefits of participation. The analysis shows an increase in citizen activity for public consultation opportunities associated with initiatives in the pre-formulation stage of policymaking and for public consultation opportunities associated with less complex consultation documents.

Keywords: Citizen participation; policy stage; public consultations; public salience; technical complexity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:25:y:2024:i:1:p:130-150

DOI: 10.1177/14651165231208995

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