Participation as assemblage: Looking at developments in democratic innovations through an assemblage perspective

TY - JOUR

T1 - Participation as assemblage: Looking at developments in democratic innovations through an assemblage perspective

AU - Bussu, Sonia

AU - Wojciechowska, Marta

AU - Catherine Forde, Catherine

AU - dos Santos Dias, Tayrine

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - This article introduces assemblage theory as a theoretical frame and analytical lens to study democratic innovations and capture the dynamism and complexity of democratic innovations. Assemblage theory places emphasis on non-linearity, contingency, situatedness and relationality. We argue that an assemblage perspective can further understanding of how different participatory spaces and practices coexist, interact, and change, as assemblages of various human, non-human and material elements. Assemblage can help pay attention to how participatory processes embed in new contexts and the level of disruption they might generate. It supports a pragmatic research agenda grounded in fine-grained analysis of the temporality and emergence of participation, focusing on processes that lead to (dis)embeddedness of a participatory culture and conditions that affect capacities for participation. In this way, it can inform approaches to democratic innovations that are sensitive to contextual factors, promoting a diversity of participatory practices to strengthen inclusivity.

AB - This article introduces assemblage theory as a theoretical frame and analytical lens to study democratic innovations and capture the dynamism and complexity of democratic innovations. Assemblage theory places emphasis on non-linearity, contingency, situatedness and relationality. We argue that an assemblage perspective can further understanding of how different participatory spaces and practices coexist, interact, and change, as assemblages of various human, non-human and material elements. Assemblage can help pay attention to how participatory processes embed in new contexts and the level of disruption they might generate. It supports a pragmatic research agenda grounded in fine-grained analysis of the temporality and emergence of participation, focusing on processes that lead to (dis)embeddedness of a participatory culture and conditions that affect capacities for participation. In this way, it can inform approaches to democratic innovations that are sensitive to contextual factors, promoting a diversity of participatory practices to strengthen inclusivity.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105002047213&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/02633957251329608

DO - 10.1177/02633957251329608

M3 - Article

SN - 0263-3957

JO - POLITICS

JF - POLITICS

ER -