Policy and science: options for democratisation in European countries

Despite the institutional complications involved in bridging the gap between experts and citizens, the issue of participatory and deliberative decision-making and democracy has remained firmly on the political and policy agendas. Citizens in most western nations have high levels of education and, as a result, are also increasingly qualified to question decisions made by authorities. This special issue is a quest for innovative institutional and discursive solutions to bridge the gap and make technically complex policies both better informed and more legitimate, for instance, by installing lay panels, hearings, parliamentary commissions etc. Examples have been taken from experiences in Britain, Germany, France, Finland and the European Union.