Public Impact. Citizen influence in local government in Iceland

• Published in: Icelandic Review of Politics & Administration
• Main Author: Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Icelandic
• Published: University of Iceland 2009
• Subjects: Political institutions and public administration (General); JF20-2112; Political science (General); JA1-92; Iceland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.13177/irpa.a.2009.5.1.8; https://doaj.org/article/4d6c02ee1fd04e0e97c6c215b10bcdc0

Considering its importance in democratic theory, public impact on public policy is a strangely neglected theme in political science. The main theoretical traditions in political science, in fact, seem sceptical of claims that the public can influence public policy in a systematic manner. The present article is an attempt to consider the ways in which public impact may be studied and evaluated through a study of citizen influence in planning and environmental issues in Icelandic local government. The results indicate - even if only tentatively - that the impact of the citizens is greater than would be expected on the basis of the main theoretical traditions in political science.(The article is part of a larger research project supported by the Icelandic Centre for Research, the University of Iceland Research Fund, Association of Local Authorities in Iceland, Landsbanki Íslands and Orkuveita Reykjavíkur.)