Samenvatting

Democratic innovations aim to give citizens more say in policy and political decisions. But what is the influence of democratic innovations on policy, citizens, politicians and democratic legitimacy? This article presents international research into the influence of various forms of democratic innovations. It shows that this influence is often limited. Expectations are often high, especially when it comes to the influence on policy. But the results of democratic innovations rarely lead to substantial changes in policy. In a critical reflection on the research findings, the article then discusses some theoretical and methodological challenges in research into the influence of democratic innovations; the risk of manipulation and instrumentalisation of democratic innovations; and the problem of selective policy influence. The contribution concludes with a number of lessons for practice.