The participatory bias. An introduction to the positive theory of participatory democracy

Abstract

This article offer an analytical framework to analyse one of the most relevant models of participatory democracay, the associative democracy in the local level of government. By the participatory bias hypothesis, the author show the structural limits of this model of democracy: the institutional logic of party competence make imposible an igualitarian distribution of participation opportunities among local associations. While the main goal for local government is the electoral victory, and its second goal, the participation opportunities supply, means redistribution of local power, to implement the second one has to select those associations that does not limit the firts one. To contrast the hypotesis, the author analyse the development of some associative democracy experiences in spanish municipalities.