Deepening democracy at the local level / Civic participation in Utrecht

This thesis focuses on the topic of active citizenship in democratic societies. An emphasis is placed on the clarification of the role of the citizen as an engaged actor who has the right to influence political processes and decision-making at the local level. Democracy is seen from a variety of angles in the theoretical part, particular attention is given to participatory democracy and deliberation. The practical part is devoted to the research that was carried out in the Dutch city Utrecht, where the specific tools used for engaging citizens in policy- making were investigated together with motivations of public officials as well as citizens to support civic participation. This thesis attempts to provide a picture of the functioning of democratic principles in Utrecht with reference to an example of good practice. Keywords democracy, democracy at the local level, participatory democracy, citizenship, participation, deliberation, tools of civic participation, civic participation, political participatio