The lottery applied to a case of participatory budgets

Effects on the plurality of profiles, polarization, and deliberative quality

Authors

Keywords:

participatory budgeting, sortition, deliberation, polarization

Abstract

Democratic innovations aim to involve the citizenry in public decision-making and have taken on various forms. This research assesses a participatory budgeting initiative that incorporates random selection and places emphasis on deliberation in its design. This pilot experience is conducted at the University of Malaga and focuses on the inclusion of the LGTBIQ+ community within the faculty. The objective is to analyze the effects of this design on participant profiles, as well as on polarization and the perceived quality of the deliberative process. Thirty-six students participate in the deliberative phase. A quantitative investigation with surveys is carried out, employing a pretest and posttest design with a single group. The results indicate that random selection allows for the inclusion of profiles somewhat less aligned with the demands of the LGTBIQ+ community, as well as with more diverse attitudes and emotions. Furthermore, concerning polarization, the process heightens positive attitudes toward investing resources in raising awareness about non-binary identities. Simultaneously, participants perceive a high deliberative quality in the dimensions studied. These results are exploratory, as they pertain to a pilot study with a small sample size.

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Author Biographies

Marta Barros González, Universidad de Málaga

PhD student at the University of Malaga. Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy. C. Dr. Ortiz Ramos, 29010, Málaga (Spain). She is working on her doctoral thesis in the research line Institutional Political Participation from a Psychosocial Perspective, of the HUM-590 group (UMA). Her research interests focus on the psychosocial impact of participatory processes and deliberative methodologies on the people who participate. From an intersectional and quality approach and democratic inclusion. Associate researcher at the new Chair of Social Inclusion (UMA), OTRI reference number: 8.07/5.38.6261 CÆt.

Patricia García-Leiva, Universidad de Málaga

Lecturer in Social Psychology at Malaga University. Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy. C. Dr. Ortiz Ramos, 29010, Málaga (Spain). Researcher in charge of the research line Institutional Political Participation from a Psychosocial Perspective of the HUM-590 research group. She has participated in and led several projects and international and national research contracts, studying inter- and intra-group dynamics in political participation processes. She is the author of several articles and books on how participation can increase psychological empowerment, political efficacy, identification or group cohesion, while reducing negative interactions among participants.

Pablo Jesús Gallardo García, Universidad de Málaga

PhD student at the University of Malaga. Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy. C. Dr. Ortiz Ramos, 29010, Málaga (Spain). Specialised in Statistics and Methodology Applied to Social Psychology. His thesis is based on the construction of mathematical models to explain and predict psychosocial variables, such as happiness, through structural variables such as economic development, democratic quality or social progress, among others. Experience in the statistical sector applied to the social and psychosocial field, as collaborating researcher in the new Chair of Social Inclusion (UMA). OTRI reference number: 8.07/5.38.6261 CÆt.

Juliana Montenegro Brasileiro, Universidad de Málaga

Co-supervised doctoral candidate at the University of Málaga (UMA), Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy. C. Dr. Ortiz Ramos, 29010, Málaga (Spain); and the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP - Brazil). She researches on the institutional political participation of children from a psychosocial perspective, based on the analysis of participation projects or programmes for this public in the Spanish and Brazilian context. Her main research interests are: children's political participation, political polarisation, democratic crisis and deliberative democracy. Collaborating researcher in the new Chair of Social Inclusion (UMA), Reference OTRI no: 8.07/5.38.6261 CÆt.

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Published

2024-01-31

How to Cite

Barros González, M., García-Leiva, P., Gallardo García, P. J. ., & Montenegro Brasileiro, J. . (2024). The lottery applied to a case of participatory budgets: Effects on the plurality of profiles, polarization, and deliberative quality. Revista Prisma Social, (44), 244–273. Retrieved from https://revistaprismasocial.es/article/view/5169