Mechanisms of Decision-making in Local Self-government
and their Democratic Deficit: The Slovak Case
Ľudmila Malíková
UCM in Trnava, Faculty of Social Sciences
Martin Daško
UCM in Trnava, Faculty of Social Sciences
The paper focuses on the mechanisms of decision-making in local self-government and their democratic deficit. Interaction between citizens and local self-government bodies occurs in bodies where experts participate in decision-making together with elected officials. This implies creating conditions where direct and representative democracy can complement and check each other (J.S. Mill). The question is how this simple theoretical construct works in practice, as political actors - whether consciously or unconsciously - manipulate decision-making mechanisms; and on behalf of whose interests? Therefore, this paper focuses on the mechanism for creating council commissions as one of the instruments for the involvement of outside experts in the local self-government decision-making processes. This is seen both as an indicator of transparency in the policy-making process and as an oversight by the citizens.
