Feeling excluded? Why ethnic minorities (do not) engage in participatory budgeting

The increasing use of participatory budgeting (PB) around the world has led to analyses covering people's attitudes towards the process, its empowering characteristics, and its transformational potential. However, we know very little about how people belonging to ethnic minorities position themselves towards PB. This article aims to address this gap and identify what factors determine the engagement of individuals belonging to ethnic minorities with PB. This study focuses on the multi-ethnic city of Cluj-Napoca and uses 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with ethnic Hungarians. The results indicate that engagement is driven by the possibility of a strong voice in the community, the opportunity to communicate with the public administration about their priorities, and the stimulation of social cohesion and civic spirit. Non-engagement is triggered by the limited details provided about PB, its online-only format, and several personal characteristics.

Automated summary

This article aims to understand the attitudes and levels of engagement of individuals belonging to ethnic minorities towards participatory budgeting (PB) and identify the factors that influence their participation. The study focuses on ethnic Hungarians in the multi-ethnic city of Cluj-Napoca and utilizes 20 semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that engagement is driven by the opportunity to have a strong voice in the community, communicate with the public administration about priorities, and foster social cohesion and civic spirit. On the other hand, non-engagement is triggered by limited details about PB, an online-only format, and personal characteristics.