Grass-roots democracy and participation: A new analytical and practical approach

This paper offers, to an anglophone readership, an account of a francophone theoretical perspective on the analysis of social relations and its application to the study of grass-roots democracy in contemporary democratic society. Both traditional representative and participatory conceptualisations of democracy, as well as the recent attempts of communitarianism, radical democracy, and associational theory to reformulate participatory perspectives are critically reviewed. The authors then turn to an account of the 'transaction sociale' perspective and, drawing upon English and French literature, apply it to the analysis of the relations of local grass-roots democracy. A practical step forward in increasing liberational forms of participation in local politics through the development of the concept of 'the smuggler' is offered.