Peter McLaverty, Robert Gordon University, UK Contributors: Peter McLaverty, Ciaran O'Faircheallaigh, Cornie Groenewald, Antoinette Smith, Arturo Flores, Georgina Blakeley, Daniel Kubler, Sonia Walti, JohnDiamond, Erik-Hans Klijn, Joop F.M. Koopenjan, Nils Aarsaether, Torill Nyseth, Asbjorn Roiseland.
’With British electoral turnouts falling, more people turning to forms of direct action, and talk of a crisis of democracy this book, charting developing patterns of participation among a wide range of polities, could hardly be more timely. Peter McLaverty provides an illuminating theoretical context in which to examine one of the key developments of contemporary politics.’ John Kingdom, Sheffield Hallam University, UK ’...the collection provides an interesting and occasionally provocative insight into the imperatives for and reactions to public participation initiatives...this is an interesting collection, which will be of relevance to politicians, professionals and community activists concerned with public participation and democracy.’ Local Government Studies '...this book is worth buying on the part of a university library, for its empirical material should be useful...the particular cases are rich and intriguing...' Public Administration