Democracy, participation and vulnerable groups

This paper aims to explore the issue of the participation of vulnerable groups, with particular reference to people with intellectual disabilities. Starting from an examination of the functional relationship between participation and the democratic ideal, and the challenges facing the national context, this paper outlines the model of participation introduced by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), highlighting that, although the European Union has long been moving towards promoting greater participation by people with disabilities, opportunities for dialogue and the decision-making processes themselves still suffer from serious shortcomings in terms of accessibility, thereby hindering the full realisation of this right.