Is it a sign of growing frustration or civic protest? Or is it simply a normal feature of an established democracy? The structural dimension of voter participation is often obscured by debates focusing on day-to-day politics: More than anyone, it is members of socially disadvantaged and less educated social strata who are withdrawing from politics in large numbers.

A large majority of non-voters (59 percent) do not rule out participation in elections per se and can still be approached and mobilized. But, for that, there needs to be a concerted effort and strategy on the part of all democratic forces. By addressing the core issues of who votes, how we vote and according to which rules we vote, we outline proposals that could help get voter turnout back up.

It is important to figure out how citizen’s participation is affecting Germany’s democracy. To do so, we examine both direct-democratic and dialogue-oriented processes. This issue is pursued in comprehensive analyses that take citizens and political elites into account.