2018/01/22 by José Luis Fernández-Martínez, Joan Font, Joan Font Fábregas · 2 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Political Influence and Corporate Strategies #Social Media and Politics
paper · doi:10.1177/0263395717741799
openalex publication_date 2018/01/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Recent research on citizen process preferences has highlighted three different models of decision making: representation, participation and stealth democracy. However, the meanings of the two alternatives to the prevailing representative model have not been fully explored. What do citizens have in mind when distinguishing between participatory and stealth models of democracy? Using survey data from several Western European countries, the article explores one distinction within preferences for each of the models: the preference for more referendum-based versus dynamic responsiveness-based solutions on the participatory side and for expert-based versus business-based solutions on the stealth side. The article ends by exploring the impact of left-right ideology and education upon these preferences. The explanatory power of the variables is greater for understanding the internal distinction of the stealth model than the participatory one.