Public Participation and Interaction with the State (Research Paper Sample)

Writers Choice: Public Participation and Interaction with the State
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Public Participation and Interaction with the State
Introduction
Citizen or public participation is a very crucial element in a democratic government. Public participation is any process that directly involves the citizens in making decisions that affect the state and its citizens (U.S. EPA, 2014). The public is given full consideration to give inputs in decision-making. In a democratic state, people with differing opinions come together to choose between different options by casting their votes. Citizens are usually more concerned with some things than others, and most are not continuously involved in public affairs (Dionne & Mann,2003). Nevertheless, the public needs to be engaged in the political matters of their state. The public can interact with the state by voting in favor of or against a particular aspect through the public participation process. The state organizes societies based on principles, morals, rules, rights, duties, institutions, and culture (Voinea et al., 2022). The individual citizens, therefore, have crucial roles of interacting with and participating in the state's organization activities through means like voting.
Citizens have the right and patriotic duty to give their opinions through their votes. Their participation helps to make the right decisions supported by the majority votes. However, public participation can also work against the state through voting against specific policies, activities, or agendas. The citizens can reject a government's proposed bill or act by voting against it. They can use the popular referendum and the citizen initiatives' direct forms of democracy to bypass or repeal a proposed statute (NCLC, 2022). These actions control and work against the state's proposed legislation. This paper aims to examine whether these ways of citizens' interactions with the state are sufficient and whether they work well enough.
Are the Ways Effective?
There is a dynamic relationship between the state and its individuals, reflected in public participation in the state workings and policy making (Voinea et al., 2022). Public participation through voting effectively makes good policies that impact the state's workings. It leads to better decisions since complete information is given to decision-makers through public input, perspectives, values, and additional facts (U.S. EPA, 2014). The interests and needs of all individuals are considered, further making the measures effective. In addition, sponsor agencies can make easily implementable and better decisions that reflect public values and interests. Communities also gain the capacity to manage and solve complex social issues since public participation solves longstanding misunderstandings and differences. Voting measures are also effective since decisions made through public participation are perceived as more legitimate and are less challenged (U.S. EPA, 2014).
Public participation can change the nation for the better. It is effective since it improves trust and relationships between the public and the various stakeholders in a country (U.S. EPA, 2014). It helps the stakeholders resolve disputes and manage challenging situations using collaborative and meaningful measures based on the citizens' opinions. The stakeholders can also value the interests and values of the public. In addition, public participation through voting helps make foreign policy and allocate resources in the state (Wiblin, 2020). These prove that the measure is adequate for achieving the goals and purposes of a state.
Do the Ways Work Well Enough?
The ways that individual citizens interact with the state need to be revised. Specific challenges hinder public participation from working well enough. For instance, even though the citizens cast their votes, some may need complete information about the political matters in the state. Moreover, questionable pollster methods negatively impact public participation. Some political parties could pay the citizens to vote in their favor. The media and other political groups could also manipulate and mislead the public concerning the votes to cast. The public could also hold uninformed and ambiguous political information concerning political topics (Dionne & Mann,2003). Such factors make the public participation form of interacting with the state not work well enough. These factors bring about the need for implementing certain aspects that would lead to a better result.
What Else is Needed?
Effective public participation requires citizens to have the capacity and knowledge to participate effectively in decision-making. If the citizens lack vital participation skills, a sincere and well-designed participation process could fail to reach its potential (U.S. EPA, 2014). Therefore, citizens' capacity to participate effectively in voting is needed. It can be done in several ways, including training the citizens, the stakeholders' representatives, and the community leaders about participation skills. In addition, the citizens' capacity can be enhanced by modeling their behaviors to be reflected throughout the participation process. Other effective measures include formulating, sharing, and promoting vital values and practices of public participation; giving special attention and consideration to marginalized communities and vulnerable populations; providing technical assistance to the citizens concerning technical information related to public participation; and mentoring community leaders to facilitate an effective public participation process, among others (U.S. EPA, 2014)
At times, voters give opinions on topics and subjects they do not care about or those to whom they have yet to give much consideration and thoughts. The voters c