There is a growing trend among developed countries to increase the participation of youth in societal and institutional decision-making. The challenge is to move away from an illusion of participation (tokenism) to genuine youth influence. This article transfers knowledge of a relatively new theory to the fields of youth engagement and community development. We pose deliberative democracy as a ...

The leading theories of democracy and stakeholder inclusion from traditional democratic theory demonstrate major limitations in conceptualising these interactions in terms of inclusion or equity, key requisites for the achievement of sustainability. Leading interpretations of management theory are also limited, either constrained by narrow concepts of economic development and shareholder accoun...

“Meaningful participation” can be defined in terms of access to voice and competence of knowledge(s) that fosters shared understanding about values, interests, and concerns. Recent research about “analytic-deliberative” decision processes shows that meaningful public participation is possible, and decision outcomes are improved. The analytic component provides technical information that ensures...