Abstract

MONTES DE OCA BARRERA, Laura Beatriz. Democratic innovations? Analysis of telecommunications Advisory Board in Mexico. Rev. Mex. Sociol [online]. 2014, vol.76, n.2, pp.287-320. ISSN 2594-0651.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze a government setting with external participation, in order to assess its potential as a democratic innovation. To this end, an ideal type was constructed, which was compared with the design and operation of a specific case: the Advisory Board of the Mexican telecommunications regulator. Through documentary and field information, situations are identified that keep it close or far from the ideal type and, therefore, from its characterization as a democratic setting. This analytical exercise is useful for testing the conceptualization of democratic innovations as settings that seek to expand representative democracy.

Keywords : democratic innovations; governance; participation; public decision making; ideal type; influence.