37 Participatory Knowledge Matters for Democracy Claire Blencowe Democracy is not just about the formal structures of elections and political representation; democracy is more fundamentally about where authority rests in society. A democratic society is one where ordinary people have authority; enough authority to make political demands, to hold people to account, to be taken seriously. This is why there is an essential link between democracy and dignity. Democratisation is about the dispersal of authority throughout society. So what is Ǯauthorityǯ and how can participatory practices create it or redistribute it? These questions lead us to think about the ways in which different people are characterised as knowing, or not knowing, about Ǯrealityǯ or Ǯthe real worldǯ. They even suggest that Ǯknowing realityǯ is a battleground of democracy.