Making space for citizens : broadening the ‘new democratic spaces’ for citizen participation

This briefing takes a closer look at examples of 'new democratic spaces' in a number of very different countries, which seek to extend the range and scope of opportunities for citizen participation. It argues that if they are to avoid becoming just another set of one-size-fits-all models, much more attention needs to be paid to key contextual factors as well as to institutional design. It concludes with some practical lessons on dealing with the key challenges which ‘new democratic spaces’ pose for policymakers and for citizen representatives