Engagement of Citizens in the Government of a State: Expediency and Limits (Problem Setting)

Abstract

New technologies have led to the emergence of new forms of citizens’ participation in government, including in rule-making. So-called “co-management” is expanding at an unprecedented rate. Digitalization of civic participation not only facilitates access to more information, but also makes the processes of interaction between the state and citizens fast, relatively cheap, and also promotes political and legal discussions about the limits of such participation. On the one hand, the participation of citizens in public administration is a necessary, inevitable process that legitimizes power, one of the hallmarks and instruments of democracy. However, on the other hand, the involvement of too many participants in public administration processes has a number of disadvantages.