Feeling excluded? Why ethnic minorities (do not) engage in participatory budgeting

Gherghina, S. , Tap, P. and Traistaru, I. (2023) Feeling excluded? Why ethnic minorities (do not) engage in participatory budgeting. Identities, (doi: 10.1080/1070289X.2023.2284533) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

The increasing use of participatory budgeting (PB) around the world has led to analyses covering people’s attitudes towards the process, its empowering characteristics, and its transformational potential. However, we know very little about how people belonging to ethnic minorities position themselves towards PB. This article aims to address this gap and identify what factors determine the engagement of individuals belonging to ethnic minorities with PB. This study focuses on the multi-ethnic city of Cluj-Napoca and uses 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with ethnic Hungarians. The results indicate that engagement is driven by the possibility of a strong voice in the community, the opportunity to communicate with the public administration about their priorities, and the stimulation of social cohesion and civic spirit. Non-engagement is triggered by the limited details provided about PB, its online-only format, and several personal characteristics.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Participatory democracy, ethnic groups, minorities, budgeting, exclusion.
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gherghina, Dr Sergiu
• Authors: Gherghina, S., Tap, P., and Traistaru, I.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Identities
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1070-289X
• ISSN (Online): 1547-3384
• Published Online: 21 November 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Author(s)
• First Published: First published in Identities 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license