What Determines the Participation in the Policy-Making Process?

This thesis researches the determinants of participation in the policy-making process in the light of the implementation of the European Union’s Interactive Policy Making, in particular, its online consultation tool. In order to answer the research question, five indicators are proposed, namely; time, GDP per capita, competence, cost-benefit analysis, and level of trust. Findings show that there are significant relations between time required to participate, level of competence, cost-benefit analysis performed by the participant, and level of trust in EU, with the level of participation. However, there is no highly-significant relation between the levels of GDP per capita, with the level of participation. The finding shows that the most active countries, although coming from rich countries, are not necessarily the richest ones. Among the twenty seven countries of EU, the most active countries are countries with GDP per capita level placed somewhat in the middle, not on top of the list. The conclusion of the research’s findings shows some agreements and disagreements with the general literatures, and that some indicators are not useful in the development of consultations.