9 - Handling Dilemmas, Avoiding the Dark Side, and Tackling Democratic Problems

Summary

Along with the potential benefits and advantages, co-creation presents a series of dilemmas that may hamper the expansion of co-creation as a core principle of governance. In addition, co-creation has a dark side that we seldom talk about. Finally, co-creation may jeopardize cherished norms and values of liberal democracy. Our attempt to elevate co-creation to a key governance principle must look these challenges in the eye and reflect on the possibilities for either circumventing them or mitigating their negative effect. Consequently, this chapter aims to assess the acknowledged governance dilemmas inherent to co-creation, shed light on the dark side of co-creation, and consider the conflicts that may arise between co-creation and some of the fundamental principles of liberal democracy. It also reflects on the normative status of co-creation as a way of democratizing public governance and insists that co-creation is neither a settled concept nor a perfected ideal, but rather a work in progress in need of further reflection and experiential learning.