From aldermanic patronage to aldermanic menus: racial exclusion and the reinvention of participatory democracy in neoliberal Chicago

Abstract

Abstract This paper applies a critical institutionalist analysis to the practice of participatory budgeting in Chicago, Illinois. Analyzing contemporary participatory democratic practices, such as participatory budgeting, in relation to longstanding race- and class-based social struggles highlights how elite actors can engage with participatory democratic interventions to manage the political exclusions of racial capitalism.