Participatory Democracy, Really? with Loïc Blondiaux and Manon Loisel, moderated by Laurent Devisme.
Now more than ever, it is crucial to deliberate on the possible and desirable actions of public authorities. Recent democratic history reveals a wide variety of approaches: conventions, conferences, and randomly selected councils have explored new avenues for participatory mechanisms that have learned from so-called “token” forms of participation. But what impact have these initiatives had on local democracy, and what drives the transformation of political action at a time marked by confusion, distrust, and relativism?
Through an interactive participatory format, the audience will be invited to reflect, debate, and take a stance—or choose not to—on the challenges of participatory democracy.
6pm
Lieu Unique, Quai Ferdinand-Favre
in French without interpretation
free admission, no reservation required
Manon Loisel is a consultant-researcher in local public policies at the agency Partie Prenante. She teaches at Sciences Po Paris and is co-author, with Nicolas Rio, of Pour en finir avec la démocratie participative (Textuels, 2024) and Lettres aux 500 000 (futurs) élus locaux.
Loïc Blondiaux is a professor of political science at the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and a researcher at the European Center for Sociology and Political Science (CESSP) (CNRS/Paris I/EHESS). His research focuses on opinion polls, the history of social sciences, participatory democracy, and democratic innovations. He is the editor of the journal Participations and has chaired the scientific council of the GIS “Democracy and Participation” since 2009. He is notably the author of La démocratie des émotions, Presses de Sciences Po, 2018 (in collaboration), Le référendum d’initiative citoyenne délibératif, Note of the Terra Nova Foundation, 2019 (with Bernard Manin), Le tournant délibératif. Bilan et perspectives, Presses de Sciences Po, 2021 (with Jean-Michel Fourniau, Dominique Bourg, Marie-Anne Cohendet), and La démocratie écologique. Une pensée indisciplinée, Hermann, 2022.
Laurent Devisme, professor of urban studies at ENSA Nantes, is vice-president at Nantes University, in charge of ecological transformations and scientific mediations. He notably co-chairs the university’s sustainable development conference, a deliberative assembly aimed at analyzing and questioning the university’s sustainable development policy. His research primarily adopts an ethnographic approach to urban planning: how is urban production unfolding today? With which actors, under what frameworks and models? He is notably the author, with Théo Fort-Jacques, of Transformations de l'action publique métropolitaine. Le laboratoire nantais et ses nouveaux objets (Flammarion, 2022).
