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Falun: on the road to becoming a ‘Democracy City’ in Sweden

Learning points

Falun’s journey towards becoming a “Democracy City” has only started. Nevertheless, a number of lessons have already been learnt:

  • A broad political majority is needed to launch such a reform and make it happen. If only a slim governing majority tries to change the democratic governance process, the risk of non-implementation and reversal after an electoral defeat is obvious.
  • Participation cannot solely be introduced top-down and cannot be limited to consultations or non-binding petitions. It is important that everybody understands that participation only works if it is supported by a ‘democracy infrastructure’ and understood as an essential part of a modern representative democracy.
  • Participation requires a lot of patience to convince all the relevant stakeholders to implement a more participatory approach to local politics. It is important not to try to make too much happen too quickly as this is likely to lead to negative reactions.

In order to learn from and inspire other participatory local authorities Falun wishes to develop an international ‘Democracy Network’. The council already cooperates with other “Democracy Cities” such as Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Vienna and Seoul.  In autumn 2013, the first “Falun Democracy Week” will take place. 

About this case study
Main Contact

Bruno Kaufmann

Chairman of the Falun Electoral Commission and Democracy Council, Falun

E-Mail:

bruno.kaufmann@falun.se 


Bruno Kaufmann wrote this case study for Governance International on 22 February 2013.

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