| Zusammenfassung: | Abstract There is no better time than now to take stock of the trajectory of “democratic innovations” in Western democracies, amidst the burgeoning clamour of democratic dissatisfaction and the populist threat to liberal democratic institutions. This article takes the opportunity to discuss the concept of democratic innovations, reflecting on what is truly so democratic about democratic innovations when these practices have also emerged in the unlikely places of authoritarian systems. To do so, it briefly revisits the normative assumptions of these democratic innovations, as well as discusses and assesses the conditions under which such novel institutional ideas function. At the same time, a look at democratic innovations in authoritarian systems uncovers a more nuanced discourse. By examining the contributions of democratic innovations beyond the usual democratic systems, this review article provides a thoughtful premise for reconsidering the rationale, motivation, and functions of democratic innovations that—in the end—might not be so different in democratic and non-democratic systems.
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