Consultative Government: A Feature of or an Alternative to Democracy in Public Administration?

— Consultative government : a feature of or alternative to democracy in public administration ? — Consultative government and democracy in public administration have in common the notion of representation and the principle of participation in decision-making. Consultative government offers a growing range of possibilities to citizens’associations, particularly in its new forms, for which the model is France’s Grenelle environmental lawmaking process. However, these consultation procedures remain firmly contained within a legal framework, and government departments retain control of the process. Ultimately, although consultative government cannot be described as a democratic procedure, it does help to create a climate that is conducive to democracy.