Abstract:
This chapter discusses how public input into government is increasing and diversifying and political leaders are moving towards an approach that concedes their own limitations whilst acknowledging the value of others. It demonstrates how there are often unseen changes in the practice of democracy in established western liberal democracies through non-formalised, irregular and even ‘hidden’ activities where political elites now use an increasingly varied range of public input mechanisms (consultation, deliberation or market research) to obtain feedback after they are elected. The aim is to solve problems rather than just collect consumerist demands. Of course, such evolution is not yet complete and a lot of public funds are currently wasted in poor quality public input collection which fails to impact on government. But drawing on interviews with political practitioners involved in public input, it puts forward a list of potential benefits for politicians from high quality public input. It theorises that we are seeing the emergence of Partnership democracy, where all forms of public input are collected and reported by an independent government unit – a Ministry for Public Input - acts as the link between the public and politician who work together to identify solutions, even if politicians continue to make the final decision. Democracy is being contested not to fight or compete, but to evolve towards a more mature, solution-oriented and constructive governance.