Rarely have citizens been as sceptical of politics and state institutions as they are today.
Many people think politicians in particular are capable of doing anything & and they don=t
trust them an inch. They regard the state as being in the hands of corporate lobbyists and
elites and believe their own interests are never taken into account. At the same time there
have probably never been so many opportunities available for people to participate in political
processes. In Getting a Hearing contributors from academia and practical work explore the
causes of this contradictory development and describe the forms of participation available
ranging from local authorities to the level of the European Union. Do these serve only as a fig
leaf to back up political and bureaucratic activity or do they create genuine participation
and thus open up opportunities to close the gap between citizens and the state at least to
some extent?
