Participatory democracy is a process emphasizing the broad involvement of constituents in the direction and operation of political systems. While etymological roots imply that all governments deserving the name "democracy" would rely on the participation of their citizens (the Greek demos and kratos combine to suggest that "the people rule"), traditional representative democracies tend to limit citizen participation to voting, leaving the main work of governance to a professional political elite.

Participatory democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a political group to make meaningful contributions to decision making, and seeks to broaden the range of people who have access to such opportunities.  It also strives to create a political system that will allow people to participate in politics, as much as possible in a face-to-face manner or through a mechanism of direct representation relying on citizen's participation at the base.