S2E11: Rethinking Citizen Participation, Power, and Agency

Send us Fan Mail How can collective action be triggered and maintained at scale and how can we use that for change? In this episode of Social Norms Chat, host Cäcilia Riederer seats with Györgyi Galik, from Dark Matter Labs / Governing Together. Together, they talk about innovations at the local level, focusing on citizen participation and its importance. Check Governing Together's summary introduction here. Mentions and Recommendations made by Györgyi: Caroline Lucas Kate CrawfordChris AndersonOlga Kusinskaya (2023) The Politics of Invisibility Public Knowledge about Radiation Health Effects after Chernobyl Holly Buck (2024) A Climate Disinformation Focus Takes Us the Wrong Way More about relationality, one of the main concepts mentioned during this episode:Relationality refers to the underlying web of relationship dynamics, interactions, and exchanges through which governance actually happens. It is not an add-on to institutions or processes. It is the condition within which they operate. At its core, relationality recognises that:people, institutions, and systems are interdependent and entangledoutcomes emerge from patterns of interaction, not only from individuals, intentions, formal decisions, norms, or structuresgovernance is shaped as much by how we relate as by what we decideRelationality might include:Relationships between people and groupsTrust, mistrust, care, conflict, reciprocityFlows and exchangesInformation, resources, power, attention, legitimacyFeedback loopsHow we learn, iterate, and how signals travel, are interpreted, and influence present and future actionCollective sense-makingHow shared understanding is formed, contested, and stabilisedInstitutional arrangementsThe formal and informal rules that shape how interactions happenValue logicsWhat is considered valid, important, or legitimate within a systemEveryday practices and enactmentHow daily practices are implemented and exercised through the design of ‘soft infrastructures’ – tools, processes, and practices that translate intentions and policies into institutional capacityFollow us on LinkedIn - and message us if you have questions, suggestions or comments!Executive producer and host: Cäcilia RiedererSpecial guest: Györgyi GalikProducer and writer: Dora EhrlichEditor: Tabusum Akter