The Democratic Need for Transparency

Participatory and deliberative democracy is a cornerstone for modern governance structures. However, contrary to these assumptions, major societal events dating back a decade ago have shown time and time again that neither representation, nor deliberative-participation represent incontestable dimensions of modern democracy. Reviewed through a critical lens, this contribution argues that the social disruptions that have put democratic institutions under pressure have a common cause: the lack of transparent and accountable structures of governance. With the help of key examples of transparent and inclusive governance, from both Global South and North contexts, it is argued that to (re-)make a democratic structure more in line with its normative principles, a civil society-rooted transformation should embrace transparency as a guiding norm and as a formal requisite, both in terms of information availability and accessibility of accountability channels. This paper thus contributes to the larger debate on deliberative-participatory democracy offering a conceptual and analytical framework based on the social and political need for transparency.