Voting without making a difference? Political participation and its quality
Ticking a box every five years – is that enough? In North Rhine-Westphalia, there have long been other ways to get involved. At state level, these include people’s initiatives and referendums; at local authority level, citizens’ initiatives. Added to these are new formats such as citizens’ assemblies, in which people selected by lot draw up recommendations.
But how do these forms fit in with representative democracy? Do they strengthen trust in politics, or do they weaken the state parliament and the state government? Is it about better representation, better governance, or both? And how much actually remains to be decided at state level?
Alexander Trennheuser has been working on direct democracy and citizen participation for twenty years. The social scientist has supported numerous citizens’ initiatives and led the North Rhine-Westphalia regional branch of Mehr Demokratie for twelve years. Today, he is the organisation’s national executive director. To mark the state’s 80th anniversary, he has taken stock of just how direct-democratic North Rhine-Westphalia is. With the election approaching, the series thus asks what difference citizens can make, on polling day and beyond.
With the event series “NRW on Course? Milestones towards the 2027 state election”, Wissenschaftscampus NRW offers an introduction to and overview of the issues that will be important on election day and beyond. To this end, Martin Florack will hold public discussions with experts at various events between November 2026 and May 2027, shedding light on the state election from new perspectives month by month. As part of the event, a recording will also take place for the Wissenschaftscampus NRW podcast.