The importance of public participation in building up democracies in former Yugoslav states. Case study: Kosovo and Croatia

There is a large body of scientific literature in social science and governmental documents which deals with abstract norms and principles for assessing and judging public deliberation and participation. Almost all political scientists agree that public participation enriches democracy by helping to ensure better decision-making and strengthening politicians’ accountability to the people. But, what is the effect of public participation into transforming political systems, and what are the key factors that cause these transformations? These questions remain still unsolved completely. Through this article, the main purpose is to elaborate the effects of public participation on building up democracies (similarities and differences) in former Yugoslav states, Kosovo and Croatia, by analyzing the Transformation Index BTI, Croatia and Kosovo Country Reports and also Varieties of Democracies - Public Variables on Public Participation for Kosovo and Croatia. The hypotheses raised are based in transformation studies that put an effort on explaining the importance of public participation in different political changes, especially on bringing up democratic values. Given a history that in many respects can be considered similar, Kosovo and Croatia as two states that built the legal framework based on the principles of the European Union, seem to have their differences in the development of democracy with a focus on public participation in decision-making that are rated very differently into the Transformation Indexes