Hybrid Participation. A Hinge between Individual Participation and Institutional Co-determination

Abstract

This article addresses a key problem of the German system of co-determination that primarily relates to the changed economic framework conditions of work. It presents a find as a variant of democratic partici-pation that could function as a hinge between direct participation and representative co-determination. As a form of work participation it was included into the German Labour Constitution Act (BetrVG) as part of the major reform in 2001. These forms of ‘hybrid participation ’ can poten-tially combine institutionally secured practices that are participatory oriented as well. Using own qualitative findings within the framework of in-company development projects and completing it with representative data the text analyses to what extent hybrid participation tools are already in use and what relevant experiences have been made. Key words: participation, co-determination, industrial relations In recent times, a growing number of social diagnoses have pointed to a crisis of democracy. The thesis of a “post-democracy ” as formulated by Colin Crouch (2004) for the political sphere has similarly been attested for single company or company-wide co-determination processes (see Müller-Jentsch, 1998; Streeck, 1999; Frick et al., 1999). Here post-democratic tendencies can be detected, above all in the increase of co-determination-free zones, in the ongoing retreat from collective wage agreements and/or the extent of their coverage and a fundamental change in the function of industrial relations.

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