Unit PARTICIPATORY POLICIES AND DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY

Course
Government and administration
Study-unit Code
A003343
Curriculum
Governo della democrazia e sostenibilita'
Teacher
Nicola Pettinari
Teachers
  • Nicola Pettinari
Hours
  • 60 ore - Nicola Pettinari
CFU
8
Course Regulation
Coorte 2026
Offered
2026/27
Learning activities
Caratterizzante
Area
Formazione giuridica
Sector
GIUR-05/A
Type of study-unit
Obbligatorio (Required)
Type of learning activities
Attività formativa monodisciplinare
Language of instruction
Italian
Contents
The course examines the theoretical aspects, application institutions, and practices of the political-legal model of participatory democracy. Starting from the constitutional foundation of the principle of participation and the configuration of participation rights, it analyzes the issues related to the regulation of participation and its prerequisites, EU guidelines, and the current rules at national, regional, and local levels.
Finally, some of the main methodologies and techniques for building participatory processes are illustrated, both in their modes of operation and in their practical applications, including case studies.
Reference texts
The texts for the preparation of the exam for ATTENDING students are:
- N. Pettinari, Partecipazione e valutazione di norme e politiche pubbliche. La sfida democratica della qualità dei processi decisionali [book], Napoli,
Jovene Editore, 2019;
- A. Valastro, Partecipazione, politiche pubbliche,
diritti, pp. 1-22, Astridonline [https://www.astrid
online.it/static/upload/protected/Vala/Valastro---Relazione
introduttiva_08_03_10.pdf];
- Slides, support materials, summary by points, descriptive cards of the participatory processes and of the
experiences analyzed (treated by the Professor or which have seen the involvement of expert guests), etc., attached to the lessons on the UniStudium platform, Course "Participatory Politics and Deliberative Democracy".
The texts for the preparation of the exam for NOT
ATTENDING students are (IN ADDITION TO THOSE INDICATED ABOVE FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS):
- N. Pettinari, Gli strumenti di democrazia
partecipativa ‘nelle’ costituzioni e la partecipazione ai processi
costituenti, in Federalismi.it (rivista fascia A), n. 15, 31/07/2019
[https://www.federalismi.it/nv14/articolo documento.cfm?Artid=40085];
- M. Bombardelli, La cura dei beni comuni come via di uscita dalla crisi, pp. 1-36, in M. Bombardelli (a cura di), Prendersi cura dei beni comuni, 2016.
Educational objectives
The course aims to provide theoretical and practical knowledge of the
main aspects of the participatory democracy model and its relationship
with the models of representative democracy and direct democracy.
Prerequisites
It is useful (but not essential) to have taken the exam in "Public Law Institutions".
Teaching methods
The course uses frontal didactic parts and in-depth parts with discussion
seminars and external guests.
Other information
nicola.pettinari@unipg.it
Learning verification modality
The exam is conducted orally. If individual or pair work is carried out during the course, part of the exam may involve discussing that work.
Students with disabilities may agree with the Professor on the most suitable arrangements for taking the exam based on their specific needs, which the Professor will seek to accommodate by structuring the assessment to be as comfortable as possible. In this case, it is ESSENTIAL to contact the Professor — in written form, using the official email address indicated above — AT LEAST 10 days before the exam date on which the student intends to take the test, so as to allow the instructor reasonable time for organizational arrangements.
Extended program
[The order of the topics listed below may be subject to change depending on the organization of any meetings with external guests (which cannot currently be predicted), in order to make the connection between theoretical lessons and the experiences presented by possible guest lecturers as coherent as possible.]

Democracy, participation, participatory democracy.
The predominance of representation in the contemporary State and the evolutionary phases of participation. Participation and decision-making processes in times of crisis.
Between resilience and resistance: participation as a “use” of the Constitution. The legal perspective. Constitutional foundation of the principle of participation. Participation and the public sphere: the thought of Habermas and Luhmann. Institutions of participatory democracy in Constitutions. Participation and rights. The preconditions for participation and the minimum standards of consultation. Information and communication. The role of the Internet and civic media. Participation and horizontal subsidiarity, participatory democracy, and collaborative administration. The regulation of participation: regulatory competences, macro-principles. The regulation of participation: essential levels and guarantees of participatory processes. Regulation of consultation: European guidelines. Regulation of consultation at the national level. The Participation–Evaluation link. Experimentation. The regulation of participation at the regional level. Local regulation of participation and the role of municipalities (trends in municipal regulations). Collaborative administration, regulations on common goods, collaboration agreements. Case analysis.