Democracy and Climate Change: Challenges for Democratic Innovation

Abstract

As climate change gathers momentum, so too does interest in democratic innovation to deal with associated challenges that are quickly entering the realm of reality. They are considered a promising tool to break the constraints of short-term thinking, corporate interest and partisan gridlock that often plague representative decision-making. However, there is an increasing risk that the potential contribution of these innovations could be counterbalanced by narrowing window for timely change and growth in maladaptive dynamics that emerge as climate induced pressure mounts. This panel is concerned with the role that democratic innovation can play in response to the growing challenges posed by climate change — mitigating its worst impacts and facilitating adaptive governance — and the extent to which the theoretical promise of democratic innovation can translate into effective change in an increasingly climate constrained world. This panel aims at bringing together theoretical and empirical perspectives as well as qualitative and quantitative approaches.

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