Rita Seuss

Only together can the population and politics solve the problems of the country. The mission of this book: to take the expertise of citizens seriously, to dare to change, and to promote local politics as the foundation of a new democratic self-understanding. Especially in communities with poor infrastructure and a lack of jobs, the feeling of alienation is growing: people feel abandoned by their governments. Frustration leads to resignation or aggression – and this further endangers democracy. Patrizia Nanz, Charles Taylor, and Madeleine B. Taylor are not only renowned scholars; they also bring their decades of experience with participatory processes. In their first joint book, they make it clear: the involvement of citizens must finally be more than a mere fig leaf of representative democracy.