INTRODUCTION PART I: ANALYTIC FRAMEWORK: FRAMES, DIFFUSION AND DEMOCRATIC INNOVATIONS 1. Frames and Diffusion 2. Citizen Partixcipation and Democratic Innovations 3. A Democratic Innovation: PB in Porto Alegre PART II: THE INVENTION OF NATIONAL MODELS? PB IN FRANCE, GERMANY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM 4. France: With PB Beyond "Proximity"? 5. Germany: PB Between Consultation, Financial Squeeze and the "Citizens Town' 6. United Kingdom: PB as a Form of Community Empowerment? PART III: FROM FRAMES TO DEMOCRATIC INNOVATIONS? THREE LOCAL CASE STUDIES OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING 7. Participatory Democracy in Schools? The Case of Poitou-Charentes, France 8. Participatory Budgeting as Citizens' Town? The Case of Berlin Lichtenberg, Germany 9. Salford, England (United Kingdom): Participatory Budgeting as a Form of Top-Down Community Empowerment Conclusion