Can democratic innovations tackle social-ecological challenges? Gaining insights on transformative governance across European cases

Abstract In an era of democratic backsliding, the pursuit of sustainable development that addresses social-ecological challenges can become a daunting task. Participatory and deliberative practices have flourished over the last few decades, addressing, to varying extents, policy domains that can be understood within the framework of social-ecological governance and related challenges. By understanding these practices through the concept of democratic innovations (DIs), we critically examine the historical connections between practices implemented across Europe with a focus on social-ecological challenges. This work reveals the emerging potential for democratising policy and decision-making, particularly in the areas of climate action and social justice. Despite the potential of DIs for citizen engagement with social-ecological challenges, the evidence gathered so far indicates that the reproduction of social exclusion within DIs is a significant issue, reflecting barriers rooted in socio-economic cleavages and the myopia of political elites regarding long-term transformations. The capture and co-optation of DIs by powerful groups often reduces their potential to mere performative exercises that contribute little to creating inclusive settings. Therefore, while acknowledging the significant potential of DIs for social-ecological governance, we argue for the need to investigate the contribution of existing practices within extant democratic systems to realise their transformative potential fully.